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SEYMOUR  DURST 


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The  Wretches  of  Poverty  ville 


A  Sociological  Study  of  the  Bowery 

BY 

1.  L.  NASCHER.  M.  D. 


Sketches  and  Illustrations  by  George  Toner 


JOS.   J.   LANZI-T.  Publisher. 

CHICAGO 
1  909 


1^3 


COPYRIGHTED  1904-1909 
BY 

I.  L.  NASCHER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I  watched  some  chips  as  they  floated  down  the 
stream.  Here  and  there  one,  swerved  from  the  course 
by  a  straw,  or  a  zephyr  perhaps,  approached  an  eddy, 
touched  its  edge  and  went  circling  round  its  whirls. 

Now  approaching,  now  receding  from  the  channel, 
each  turn  brought  it  nearer  the  center;  with  each  move- 
ment the  fatal  attraction  toward  the  vortex  became 
stronger, f aster andfaster it  sped  until  it  reached  the  vor- 
tex, then  gave  one  last  spin,  one  plunge,  and  disappeared. 

I  watched  the  lives  of  men  as  they  floated  down 
the  stream  of  life. 

A  note,  a  sigh,  a  glass  of  wine  or  a  woman's  smile 
would  swerve  one  from  the  straight  and  narrow  chan- 
nel. Slowly,  unconsciously  perhaps,  he  would  be 
drawn  toward  the  whirlpool  which  has  perdition  in  its 
vortex.  He  reaches  the  outer  whirl,  scarcely  realizing 
that  he  is  off  the  course  and  going  further  and  further 
away  from  the  straight  line. 

He  travels  around  the  outer  circle  and  is  back 
again,  but  now  there  is  a  barrier  between  him  and  the 
true  channel,  an  invisible  barrier,  a  line  in  width,  a  wall 
in  strength. 


He  is  in  a  pleasant  whirl  with  many  companions, 
all  rushing  toward  the  same  goal,  all  unconscious  or 
unconcerned  about  the  dark  abyss  at  its  end. 

Spinning  around  faster  and  faster,  he  scorns  the 
plodders  in  the  narrow  channel  without,  while  the 
barrier  between  him  and  them  becomes  wider  and 
stronger.  He  reaches  the  vortex,  sees  death  therein 
and  with  a  life's  remorse  compressed  into  a  moment's 
pang,  he  is  drawn  below  forever. 

The  stream  of  life  which  flows  through  Poverty- 
ville  is  not  a  gentle  stream  flowing  between  mossy 
banks,  past  pleasant  scenes.  It  is  a  turbulent  river, 
with  rocky  bottom  and  muddy  banks,  with  few  pleas- 
ant places  along  its  course.  In  its  channel  are  snags 
whereon  the  traveler  suddenly  ends  his  career;  eddies 
and  whirlpools  which,  once  entered,  drag  the  victim 
to  destruction. 

While  many  enter  the  whirlpool,  ignorant  of  what 
its  vortex  holds,  and  others  enter  to  enjoy  its  giddy 
whirl,  careless  of  the  abyss  at  its  end,  many  seek  the 
vortex  to  find  oblivion.    It  does  not  disappoint  them. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I 

POVERTYVILLE. 

PAGE 

Chapter        I  The  Underworld  of  Povertyville .  ..  7 

"           II  The  Backbone  OF  Povertyville   10 

"          III  The  Evolution  of  the  Bowery   34 

IV  Dives  and  Dens   43 

V  Hoaies  and  Haunts...   70 


PART  II 


THE  WRETCHES. 


Chapter        I  Pariahs    98 

II  Their  Tempters  and  Parasites  112 

III  Factors  Developing  Wretches  128 

IV  Some  Curious  Characters  146 

V  Slaves  of  the  Pipe  168 

VI  Lives  of  the  Wretches  184 

VII  Craft  as  a  Science  198 

VIII  Side  Lights   225 

IX  The  Final  Accounting  237 


PART  III 

THE  PROBLEM. 


Chapter  I 
II 
III 


Philanthropy  vs.  Hypocrisy 

Impractical  Ideals   

Practical  Measures  


248 
259 
272 


PART  I 
POVERTYVILLE 


POVERTYVILLE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  UNDERWORLD  OF  POVERTYVILLE. 

♦'Tp'IS  a  wretched  world,  this  underworld  of  Poverty- 
JL     ville,  where  poverty  begets  vice,  and  vice  begets 
crime,  where  virtue  has  its  price,  and  conscience  is  'stilled, 
then  forgotten. 

'Tis  a  dreary  world,  this  world  of  sin,  where  every 
man  has  a  companion  and  no  man  has  a  friend,  where  the 
past  leaves  no  comfort,  and  the  future  brings  no  hope, 
where  the  gentle  rays  of  salvation  are  shut  out  while  the 
pall  of  perdition  is  ever  present  enfolding  its  tenants, 
itself  invisible  in  the  gloom. 

'Tis  a  curious  world,  this  world  of  crime,  where  hu- 
manity appears  under  strange  lenses  which  here  throw  a 
halo  and  there  cast  a  shadow,  now  presenting  an  exag- 
gerated picture  and  again  a  diminutive  outline,  bringing 


8 


POV  ERTYV I LLE 


some  (lull,  prosaic  life  into  high  relief  or  dulling  the 
sharj)  edges  of  a  strong  character  until  it  is  merged  in  the 
sombre  background.  A  world  where  innocence  is  crime 
and  virtue  is  weakness,  where  craft  outweighs  reason 
and  brawn  outweighs  both,  where  happiness  is  found  in 
another's  grief  and  honor  is  sought  in  infamy. 

'Tis  a  morbid  world,  this  underworld  of  Povertyville, 
where  Nemesis  is  ever  present  and  ever  threatening, 
though  with  broken  bridle  and  open  yoke,  with  the  baton 
in  place  of  the  sword  and  the  slow  wheels  of  law  replac- 
ing her  chariot  and  wings.  The  fear  of  her  vengeance 
is  a  blight  upon  it  and  lasts  to  the  grave,  but  not  be}  ond, 
for  there  is  no  hereafter  in  this  underworld:  it  holds  its 
heaven  and  its  hell. 

It  holds  a  heaven  where  the  sirens'  songs  are  forever 
echoing,  drowning  the  shrieks  of  their  victims ;  where 
the  bacchanalia  ends  with  the  last  breath,  ne'er  marred 
by  thought  of  cost,  nor  stopped  by  fear  of  a  punitive 
hereafter. 

And  a  hell  such  as  Dante  could  never  conceive  of,  a 
hell  without  a  river  Lethe  to  bestow  hell's  only  blessing, 
forget  fulness.  It  is  not  in  the  fear  of  Satan  and  ever- 
lasting fires  nor  in  the  pains  which  afflict  the  body  and 
harry  the  soul,  that  its  tenants  find  the  torments  of  the 
damned,  but  in  memory,  the  memory  of  childhood,  of 
mother,  perhaps  of  wife  and  children,  the  memory  of 
happier  days  before  they  entered  the  gates  of  the  world 
wherein  they  dwell — that  is  their  hell. 


P  OV  ERTVV I LLE 


9 


'Tis  then  they  hear  the  still,  soft  voice  within  calling 
in  agony  to  Him  for  salvation,  but  

"Another  drink,  boys;  take  partners  for  the  next 
dance." 

Such  is  the  underworld  of  Poverty ville. 

In  the  following  description  of  the  Bowery  and  its 
purlieu  special  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  vicious  phases 
of  life  found  there.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  de- 
scribe the  homes  and  home  life  of  the  self-respecting 
poor  families  of  the  East  Side.  While  vast  improve- 
ments have  been  made  in  the  social  conditions  in  that  dis- 
trict since  Riis  gave  us  his  wonderful  pen  pictures  of 
*'How  the  other  half  lives"  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  there 
is  still  the  same  poverty,  and  many  of  the  problems 
that  he  pointed  out  are  still  problems.  If  not  the  great- 
est, certainly  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of-  the 
East  Side  is  the  handling  of  the  "wretches."  The  spe- 
cific purpose  of  this  work  is  to  present  these  as  they 
appear  to  the  investigator. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE   BACKBONE   OF  POVERTYVILLE. 

THE  Bowery  is  the  backbone  of  Povertyville. 
Far  back  in  Governor  Stuyvesant's  time  a 
wooden  bridge  crossed  a  brook  which  flowed  from  the 
Kalck  Water  or  Collect  Pond,  as  it  was  afterwards  called, 
to  the  East  River.  Dutch  gallants  crossing  this  bridge 
with  their  sweethearts  exacted  a  toll  in  the  shape  of  a 
kiss  while  crossing,  and,  if  history  records  correctly,  their 
rambles  invariably  led  them  to  the  farther  side.  This 
bridge,  which  stood  at  what  is  now  the  junction  of  Bax- 
ter Street  and  Park  Row,  was  the  beginning  of  a  lane 
which  led  to  the  Governor's  "Bonwerie,"  or  farm,  the 
Bouwerie  Pathye  of  the  Dutch,  the  Bowery  Road  of  the 
English,  the  famous  Bowery  of  New  York  to-day. 

The  Bowery  had  a  pleasant  beginning,  and  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  it  has  been  a  street  of  pleasure. 

Yet  it  w^as  not  pleasure  unalloyed,  for  while  no  other 
street  can  show  in  the  same  length  such  variety  or  such 
number  of  places  given  to  man's  entertainment  and  pleas- 
ures, no  other  street  hides  so  much  sorrow  and  shame, 
such  poverty  and  depravity,  such  sights  to  arouse  pity 
and  sights  to  excite  horror  as  this  same  Bowery. 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE 


11 


Here  Ike  and  Mike  mix  jargon  and  brogue  over  the 
bar  of  a  German  saloon ;  Francois  and  his  ancient  enemy, 
Fritz,  under  the  firm  name  of  Frank  and  Fred,  sell  old 
clothes,  and  the  son  of  sunny  Italy,  with  his  partner,  a 
cneless  convert  from  China  or  a  descendant  of  a  Guinea 
slave,  runs  a  pool  room  or  a  policy  shop. 

Here  poverty  lurks  behind  lace  curtains  and  wealth 
hides  behind  muslin  shades ;  here  smiling  faces  conceal 
broken  hearts  and  merry  jests  drown  mournful  sighs; 
here  rich  and  poor,  the  educated  and  the  illiterate,  the 
man  in  the  dress  suit,  and  the  man  in  rags,  find  a  com- 
mon level. 

The  Bowery  is  a  street  of  contradictions.  Open  to 
the  world,  yet  it  is  full  of  the  mysterious.  As  well 
known  abroad  as  the  Whitechapel  of  London,  and  at 
home  as  Wall  Street,  as  full  of  life  at  midnight  as  at 
midday,  few  of  the  thousands  who  traverse  it  by  day 
know  the  midnight  Bowery ;  fewer  still  have  been  behind 
the  scenes  of  the  stage  upon  which  its  wretches  appear. 
Even  the  midnight  wanderers,  to  whom  the  Bowery  is 
home,  know  little,  care  less,  about  their  neighbors  or 
companions.  To  them  the  street  outside  of  their  own 
sphere  is  a  terra  incognito. 

The  Bowery  has  not  its  counterpart  in  the  world.  A 
cosmopolis  in  itself,  it  forms  the  boundary  of  half  a 
dozen  foreign  colonies.  Near  its  beginning  there  is  an 
Irish  colony,  and  near  by  is  the  only  Greek  colony  in 
the  city.    North  of  the  Greeks  and  stretching  eastward 


12 


POVERTYV I LLE 


to  the  river  are  Jews  of  five  nationalities.  There  are 
Russian,  PoHsh,  Roumanian,  Gahcian,  and  German  Jews, 
each  nationaHty  having  its  own  center,  but  with  over- 
lapping borders.  North  of  these,  but  mingling  with  them 
at  about  Houston  street,  are  the  Hungarians,  and  beyond 
them  is  a  remnant  of  Little  Germany,  which  once  com- 
pletely filled  the  east  side  north  of  Houston  street. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Bowery  there  is  the  famous 
Chinatown  near  the  lower  end,  with  Little  Italy  beyond 
and  to  the  northward  of  the  Mongolian  quarter. 

Near  the  upper  end  of  the  street  there  are  a  few  of 
the  American  families  who,  half  a  century  ago,  made  this 
the  fashionable  part  of  the  city. 

While  each  of  these  nationalities  has  added  its  quota 
to  the  mass  who  form  the  wretches  of  Povertyville,  it  is 
not  until  they  have  become  Americanized,  have  adapted 
themselves  to  the  environment  of  the  district  and  adopt- 
ed its  ways  and  vices,  that  they  become  full-fledged 
wretches. 

In  its  business  aspect,  the  Bowery  is  contradictory.  It 
has  seven  banks,  including  the  richest  savings  bank  in  the 
country,  and  near  them  are  three  times  as  many  pawn- 
shops. Uncle  Simpson's  pawnshop  (there  are  five  bear- 
ing this  name)  is  as  well  known  as  the  Bowery  Savings 
Bank;  yet  while  the  population  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Bowery  is  decreasing,  the  number  of  banks  and  pawn- 
shops increases. 

In  its  amusements  the  street  once  catered  to  the  fash- 


POVERTY r I LLE 


13 


ionable  and  refined,  just  as  that  part  of  Broadway  from 
28th  to  48th  streets  does  today.  Now  the  language  of 
the  country  is  heard  in  but  two  of  its  nine  theaters,  and 
there  it  is  not  the  language  of  the  drawing  room,  but  the 
patter  of  the  coarse  burlesque  and  low  vaudeville  stage. 
Of  the  others,  one  is  a  Chinese  theater  and  six  are 
Jewish. 

The  Italians  had  a  theater  on  the  Bowery  in  1902, 
but  neither  drama  nor  vaudeville  seemed  to  appeal  to 
those  for  whom  it  was  intended,  and  it  soon  closed  its 
doors. 

The  Chinese  Opera  House  in  Doyers  Street,  near  the 
Bowery,  is  the  queerest  theater  in  New  York. 

Externally  the  building  resembles  the  rear  of  an  old- 
fashioned  tenement  house,  having,  however,  a  row  of  win- 
dows always  closed  by  iron  shutters  on  the  ground  floor. 
The  upper  part  is  the  rear  of  a  Chatham  Square  lodging 
house.  The  entrance  is  like  the  ordinary  tenement  en- 
trance, but  just  inside  the  door  a  space  is  partitioned  off 
for  the  box  office.  The  theater  is  a  long  hall  a  few  feet 
below  the  street  level,  with  a  small  stage  in  one  corner. 
There  are  no  flies,  wings,  curtains  or  scenery.  Incidental 
property  such  as  a  table,  chair,  etc.,  is  brought  in  when 
required  in  any  part  of  the  play  and  removed  when  it 
has  served  its  purpose.  The  auditorium  is  filled  with 
benches  and  as  there  is  little  pitch  to  the  floor,  late  com- 
ers sit  on  the  backs  of  the  rear  benches.  Near  the  en- 
trance and  opposite  the  stage  is  the  white  visitors'  private 


14 


p  oiERT  y  y  1  i.Lii 


box,  an  enclosed  platform  holding  a  dozen  chairs.  The 
orchestra  consists  of  three  pieces — a  gong,  a  drum,  and 
either  a  "X'jee  Yen,"  or  two-stringed  fiddle,  or  a  "Kin" 
or  five-stringed  instrument.  The  musicians  sit  on  the 
stage  near  the  door  through  which  the  performers  ap- 
pear. There  are  rarely  more  than  three  actors  at  one 
time  on  the  stage,  and  the  performance  appears  to  be  a 
succession  of  monologues,  interspersed  with  short  dia- 
logues, pounding  on  the  gong  or  drum  and  squeaking  of 
the  Njee  Yen.  Males  take  female  parts,  speaking  in  a 
shrill,  piping  voice.  There  are  no  programs,  the  stolid 
Chinamen  never  applaud,  and  the  stranger  can  form  no 
conception  of  the  character  of  the  play.  Without  the 
music  one  would  as  readily  imagine  it  to  be  a  lodge  initia- 
tion, a  prayer  meeting  or  a  political  discussion  as  a  the- 
atrical performance.  The  other  theaters  are  like  theaters 
elsewhere. 

The  Thalia  Theater,  the  Old  Bowery  of  our  youthful 
days,  typifies  the  changes  which  have  gone  on  in  its 
neighborhood  during  the  last  three-quarters  of  a  century. 

The  New  York  Theater,  opened  on  this  site  in  1826, 
was  in  its  day  the  finest  theater  in  America.  It  was 
called  Bowery  Theater  in  1827  and  for  forty  years  there- 
after it  was  the  home  of  good  drama  and  good  English, 
the  English  of  Edwin  Forrest,  the  two  Wallacks,  Rice, 
Quinn,  Hamlin,  and  Charlotte  Cushman.  Then  came  the 
''blood  and  thunder"  plays,  four  or  five  pieces  every  night, 
a  villain  killed  in  every  act  and  the  heroine  saved  in 


p  or  HRT  y  r I LLE 


15 


every  scene.  The  changes  in  the  character  of  the  plays 
were  reflections  of  the  changes  in  the  character  and  tastes 
of  the  Bowery  audiences.  In  1879  it  became  a  German 
theater  and  received  its  present  name.  It  is  now  a  Jew- 
ish theater,  the  performances  being  given  in  the  colloquial 
German  of  the  Russian  Jew.  (This  jargon  is  a  philo- 
logical curiosity :  being  a  German  dialect,  containing  many 
Russian,  Polish  and  Hebrew  words,  and  used  by  the  Jews 
in  Roumania,  Hungary,  southern  and  western  Russia, 
is  generally  spoken  among  the  Jews  in  the  "Ghettos"  of 
Europe ) . 

The  plays  themselves  are  either  dramas  founded  upon 
Jewish  historical  incidents  or  adaptations  from  popular 
German  or  English  plays,  and  are  performed  by  stock 
companies. 

Opposite  the  Thalia  Theater  is  Windsor  Theater,  an- 
other Jewish  playhouse  formerly  giving  performances  in 
English.  It  stands  on  the  site  of  Stadt  Theater,  the  most 
famous  German  theater  in  America  from  1859  to  1879. 

The  People's  Theater,  erected  in  1883  to  furnish  re- 
fined drama,  has  gone  jargonward.  In  the  earlv  sixties 
Pastor's  Opera  House  was  on  this  site.  In  the  seventies 
it  was  occupied  by  the  German  Volks  Garten,  and  this 
was  followed  by  the  present  theater.  As  a  home  of  re- 
fined drama  it  was  a  dismal  failure,  but  it  became  suc- 
cessful when  lurid  melodramas  were  placed  upon  its 
boards.  Now  as  a  Jewish  theater  it  is  more  successful 
than  ever. 


16 


OV  ERT  y  V I LLE 


The  little  old  National  Theater,  between  Grand  and 
Hester  streets,  now  the  Alanhattan  Music  Hall,  has  been 
converted  into  a  Jewish  vaudeville  house.  Jewish  vaude- 
ville is  an  innovation  of  doubtful  success,  two  concert 
halls,  the  Casino  Music  Hall,  near  Stanton  Street,  and 
the  Grand  Street  Music  Hall  on  Grand  Street  near  the 
Bowery,  having  failed  soon  after  introducing  this  feature. 
There  are,  however,  several  Jewish  music  halls  in  the 
district  which  seem  to  be  successful.  The  finest  theater 
on  the  East  Side  is  the  new  Grand  Theater  on  Grand 
Street,  one  block  east  of  the  Bowery.  This  is  a  Jewish 
playhouse  wdiich,  in  its  appointments,  character  of  plays 
and  work,  compares  favorably  with  Broadway  theaters. 
The  principal  actor  of  the  Stock  Company,  Jacob  Adler, 
created  quite  a  stir  in  theatrical  circles  in  1902  when  he 
appeared  with  an  English-speaking  company  at  the 
American  Theater.  The  play,  the  Merchant  of  \>nice, 
was  given  in  English,  except  the  part  of  Shylock  ren- 
dered by  ]\[r.  Adler  in  jargon.  (This  theater  is  giving 
English  melodrama  at  present.) 

In  the  two  English-speaking  houses,  the  London  The- 
ater and  ^Miner's  Theater,  the  performances  given  are 
alike — coarse  burlesques,  low  vaudeville,  sometimes  box- 
ing and  wrestling.  While  individual  numbers  may  be 
clean  and  equal  to  the  work  seen  in  the  best  vaudeville 
houses  in  the  city,  the  frequenters  of  these  theaters  want 
what  they  call  a  ''hot  show,"  one  coming  as  close  to  the 
line  of  indecency  as  the  law  will  allow.    The  delicate 


POVERTYVILLE 


17 


suggestiveness  of  the  modern  society  play  would  be  lost 
upon  the  audiences  found  in  either  of  these  two  houses. 
In  the  after  piece,  as  the  closing  act  of  the  burlesque 
show  is  called,  the  actions  are  often  coarsely  suggestive, 
the  talk  vile.  Yet  these  two  theaters  are  the  only  ones 
catering  to  the  English-speaking  East  Sider,  and  they 
are  well  patronized. 

There  are  two  types  of  concert  or  music  hall  on  the 
Bowery. 

The  permanent  type,  of  which  the  Atlantic  Garden  is 
the  only  one  remaining,  is  run  in  conformity  with  the  law, 
and  the  ephemeral  type,  which  runs  in  violation  of  the 
law  and  depends  upon  the  temper  of  the  police  and  the 
political  status  of  the  manager  or  backer  for  its  exist- 
ence— not  one  of  these  is  now  found  in  the  district. 

The  Atlantic  Garden  is  the  oldest  place  of  amusement 
in  the  city  with  the  exception  of  the  Thalia  Theater, 
which  it  adjoins.  (The  Academy  of  Music  was  first 
opened  in  1854,  four  years  before  the  Atlantic  Garden, 
but  the  present  Academy  of  Music  was  erected  in  1866.) 
The  performances  given  here  are  vaudeville  of  no  high 
order  of  merit,  but  clean  and  unobjectionable.  It  is  one 
of  the  few  music  halls  in  the  city  to  which  a  man  can 
take  his  wife  and  daughter  without  being  compelled  to 
listen  to  vulgar  jokes  and  questionable  songs.  It  is  not 
popular  with  those  who  look  for  depravity.  The  Atlantic 
Garden  was  originally  an  open-air  garden  at  the  back  of 
the  New  York  Hotel.    About  1860  the  hotel  feature  was 


18 


POV  RRTYV  ILLIl 


given  up,  and  later  the  garden  part  was  roofed  over,  a 
stage  put  up  and  vaudeville  numbers  introduced. 

In  the  seventies  it  was  popular  with  the  Germans  and 
then,  as  now,  it  was  distinguished  from  similar  places  in 
the  vicinity  by  its  clean  performances. 

There  is  a  type  of  music  hall  on  the  Bower}^  which 
keeps  within  the  letter  of  the  law  but  approaches  the  line 
of  indecency  so  closely  that  no  man  would  take  his  family 
into  it.  This  type,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the  dis- 
trict, will  be  described  in  the  chapter  on  "Dives  and 
Dens." 

Among  the  latest  additions  to  the  Bowery  amusements 
is  the  "Penny  Arcade."  This  owes  its  origin  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  slot  machine.  A  store  is  filled  with 
such  machines,  including  phonographs,  moving  pictures, 
weighing  machines.  X-ray  machines,  lung  testers,  auto- 
matic banjos  and  pianos,  faradic  batteries,  moving  mod- 
els of  fire  engines,  locomotives  and  steamships,  cameras, 
punching  bags,  etc.  Admission  is  free,  the  only  charge 
being  a  cent  in  the  slot  of  any  machine  the  visitor  wishes 
to  use.  These  places  are  fruitful  fields  for  the  pick- 
pocket. There  are  also  several  moving  picture  shows 
on  the  street. 

Among  the  Bowery  amusements  may  be  included  the 
]\Iuseums.  The  reputable  museums  of  twenty  years  ago 
are  gone  and  in  their  stead  exhibitions  professing  to  be 
museums  are  opened  and  run  for  a  few  weeks,  or  until 
complaint  is  made  to  the  police. 


POVERTY VILLE 


19 


In  one  such  place  the  placards  announced  that  the 
female  form  was  there  on  exhibition  in  all  its  loveliness. 
The  visitor  paid  five  cents  and  was  admitted  to  a  room 
containing  a  few  panoramic  views  of  towns  and  photo- 
graphs of  stage  beauties.  When  several  visitors  were 
collected  in  this  room  a  guide  entered  and  informed  them 
that  upon  a  further  payment  of  ten  cents  they  would  be 
admitted  to  the  sanctum  sanctorum,  where  this  beautiful 
female  form  could  be  seen  through  a  slit  in  the  curtain. 
The  curious  visitor  saw  through  this  slit  a  dressmaker's 
dummy  figure  with  flesh-colored  tights  filled  with  hay. 

One  museum  had  placards  announcing  in  the  most 
extravagant  terms  that  it  contained  the  eighth  wonder  of 
the  world ;  admission  ten  cents.  This  wonder  was  a 
stufifed  four-legged  chicken.  The  whole  hall  was  cov- 
ered with  theatrical  posters  and  in  one  corner  was  a  for- 
tune teller's  tent. 

Another  museum  opened  a  short  time  ago  has  a  few 
wax  figures  in  the  window.  Inside  there  are  a  few  wax 
figures  hardly  worth  the  price  of  admission.  A  visitor 
is  accompanied  by  an  attendant  who  induces  him  to  touch 
the  handles  of  an  electric  battery  and  then  compels  him 
to  pay  for  electrical  treatment. 

An  anatomical  museum  has  been  on  the  Bowery  for 
a  number  of  years.  This  is  a  bare  remnant  of  a  once 
famous  Broadway  museum  of  the  same  name  and  con- 
tains a  number  of  anatomical  specimens,  wax  casts,  arti- 
ficial monstrosities  and  medical  plates.    The  exhibition 


20 


POJ-ERTVl'ILLE 


itself  is  poor  and  would  hardly  pay,  but  credulous  vis- 
itors are  sometimes  inveigled  into  the  doctor's  office,  the 
phrenologist's  room  or  the  palmist's  comer  and  there 
cajoled  or  frightened  into  paying  a  dollar  or  two  for 
services  rendered. 

In  every  museum  on  the  Bowery  some  scheme  is 
worked  whereby  the  visitor  is  compelled  to  pay  something 
for  ''services  rendered." 

More  noticeable  than  its  places  of  amusement  are  its 
saloons  occupying  one-sixth  of  the  entire  number  of 
stores  on  the  two  streets  (Park  Row  and  the  Bowery). 
The  saloons  were  a  feature  of  the  Bowery  ever  since 
Wolfert  Webber  opened  his  tavern  near  the  Kissing 
Bridge,  and  that  was  long  before  the  English  planted 
their  flag  over  New  Amsterdam.  Then  came  a  century 
or  more  of  taverns,  the  Bull's  Head,  the  most  famous  of 
all,  standing  for  seventy  years  on  the  site  of  Thalia  The- 
ater. At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  the  gardens 
appeared  on  the  thoroughfare. 

The  Vauxhall  Garden  was  the  first  to  be  opened;  the 
Atlantic  Garden  is  the  only  one  remaining  today.  About 
1840  the  ale  houses  made  their  appearance,  and  of  this 
type  there  is  one  left.  McSorley's  Old  House  at  Home 
in  7th  Street,  near  the  Bowery,  is  an  inconspicuous  place 
rarelv  visited  by  strangers.  It  has  still  the  massive  tables 
and  chairs,  with  one  long  table  in  the  back  room,  a  bare- 
looking  bar  with  a  row  of  pewter  mugs  hanging  on  the 
wall  behind ;  the  sanded  floor,  dingy  ceiling,  the  walls 


P  O  r  E  RT  y  I'  I  LLE 


21 


covered  with  lithographs  and  engravings  of  a  former 
generation.  Its  old  ale,  the  clay  pipes  and  tobacco, 
furnished  free  to  its  patrons,  and  the  air  of  ''old  times" 
which  surrounds  it  make  it  attractive  to  a  lot  of  old 
boys,  young  boys  when  it  was  opened  near  its  present 
site  fifty  years  ago. 

It  is  impossible  to  classify  the  Bowery  saloons  of 
today.  There  is  one  which  makes  a  specialty  of  German 
wines,  the  quality  and  price  of  which  attract  connoisseurs 
and  deter  the  ordinary  Bowery  throng.  It  is  a  favorite 
resort  for  the  German  merchants  of  the  neighborhood 
and  needs  no  tinsel,  music  or  advertising  to  retain  a  good 
class  of  patrons. 

Adjoining  it  is  a  ''Morgue,"  so  called  in  the  parlance 
of  the  street  because  the  stuff  dispensed  there  brings  the 
consumer  in  time  to  its  more  gruesome  namesake.  It 
attracts  by  the  size  of  its  glasses ;  the  quality  would  drive 
away  the  least  fastidious.  On  a  side  street  nearby  is 
a  "barrel  house"  where  casks  take  the  place  of  bottles 
behind  the  bar.  When  a  customer  asks  for  his  favorite 
brand,  a  small  tumbler  is  filled  to  the  brim  and  handed 
to  him  after  he  has  produced  the  necessary  five  cents. 
The  contents  disappear  at  a  gulp.  When  beer  is  ordered 
in  these  places  the  customer  orders  a  "tub"  and  receives  a 
glass  holding  nearly  a  pint. 

Another  saloon  of  the  same  kind  announces  the 
largest  drink  on  the  Bowery  for  a  nickel.    It  is  run  by  a 


22 


POVERTY  VI LLE 


former  actor,  and  many  who  once  appeared  behind  the 
foothghts  now  hang  about  its  bar. 

Steve  Brodie's  Saloon  near  Grand  Street  defies  classi- 
fication. Its  squalid  exterior  would  never  tempt  the 
thirsty  stranger,  but  no  slumming  guide  will  pass  the 
place  without  entering,  unless  ladies  are  in  the  party. 
Its  interior  is  as  forbidding  as  the  outside,  but  the  walls 
are  covered  with  programs,  pictures,  gloves  and  relics, 
the  delight  of  the  admirer  of  fistiana  and  curiosities, 
while  on  the  bar  and  scattered  about  are  objects  and 
signs  indicative  of  the  broad  and  coarse  humor  of  the 
Bowery.  It  has  two  classes  of  patrons — slumming  par- 
ties and  wretches.  The  rear  room  is  an  ordinary  dive. 
The  place  changed  hands  in  the  summer  of  1908,  and 
some  of  the  vicious  features  were  removed. 

One  saloon,  an  ordinary  looking  place  hardly  worth  a 
second  glance,  is  the  most  attractive  place  on  the  street 
to  the  denizens  of  Povertyville,  especially  of  the  under- 
world. It  is  the  rendezvous  of  the  lieutenants  of  Pov- 
ertyville's  autocrat,  the  Hon.  Timothy  D.  Sullivan.  "Big 
Tim,"  as  they  call  him,  is  rarely  found  here,  but  when 
his  advice  is  sought  or  a  politician's  services  are  required, 
the  preliminaries  are  arranged  at  its  bar  or  in  its  side 
room. 

A  small  place  not  far  from  Brodie's  was  at  one  time 

a  model  of  neatness  and  became  famous  through  the 
skill  of  the  proprietor  in  mixing  drinks.  He  afterward 
published  a  standard  barkeepers'  manual.    The  place  was 


POl'ERTYVILLE 


23 


later  run  by  a  reformed  burglar  and  was  frequented  by 
many  of  his  former  prison  associates.  It  is  now  an  ordi- 
nary liquor  store. 

There  is  an  old  corner  saloon  which  was  thirty  years 
ago  a  famous  resort  for  horsemen.  It  is  now  patronized 
by  gamblers  and  small  sports. 

Almost  every  saloon  on  the  Bowery  has  its  particular 
class  of  patrons.  Saloons  run  by  sports  or  politicians 
attract  these  classes.  A  corner  saloon  on  the  Bowery, 
not  far  from  police  headquarters,  is  a  rendezvous  for 
police  officials.  Some  saloons  are  merely  adjuncts  to 
dives.  These  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  on  Dives 
and  Dens. 

The  stale  beer  dives  which  sold  stale  beer  collected 
from  the  nearly  empty  beer  kegs,  for  a  cent  or  two  cents  a 
glass,  have  gone  out  of  existence,  thanks  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  beer  pump,  by  which  saloonkeepers  can  drain 
the  keg  dry. 

No  church  edifice  was  ever  erected  on  the  Bowery, 
although  there  are  thirty  representing  half  as  many  de- 
nominations within  a  block  or  two  of  it.  The  only  sec- 
tarian institutions  on  the  street  are  two  missions,  the 
headquarters  of  the  \^olunteers  of  America,  a  branch  of 
the  Salvation  Army  and  a  branch  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  thor- 
oughfare, one  of  the  oldest  in  the  city,  where  evangelical 
work  would  probably  do  more  good  than  anywhere  else, 
has  been  thus  neglected. 


24 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE 


As  a  residence  street  the  Bowery  shows  a  pccuhar 
condition.  It  was  once  Hned  with  residences  throughout 
its  length.  Now  there  are  few  famihes  living  on  the 
street,  and  most  of  these  are  the  families  of  the  small 
Bowery  storekeepers.  Yet  more  than  twenty-five  thou- 
sand persons  spend  their  nights  in  its  one  hundred  or 
more  lodging  houses  and  hotels,  or  sleep  as  soundly  on 
casks  and  chairs  in  the  rear  of  its  saloons.  The  number 
is  increased  shortly  before  election  day,  while  hundreds 
of  the  winter  residents  leave  the  city  in  the  spring  when 
tramping  is  good. 

To  supply  this  floating  population  there  are  about 
seventy-five  restaurants,  but  not  one  grocery  store  or 
butcher  shop  can  be  found  from  Brooklyn  Bridge  to 
Cooper  Union. 

No  other  street  in  the  city  can  show  such  extremes 
in  its  trading  places  nor  in  the  variety  of  goods  sold. 

For  the  sale  of  men's  apparel  there  are  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  stores;  for  the  sale  of  woman's  wear  there  is 
not  one.  Among  its  clothing  stores  there  are  some  which 
in  quality  and  price  equal  the  best  on  Broadway ;  some 
sell  old  clothes  as  new,  some  sell  only  second-hand  cloth- 
ing, and  even  new  clothing  is  sold  as  second  hand  on  the 
Bowery.  Neither  the  size  of  the  store  nor  the  window 
display  is  a  safe  criterion  by  which  to  judge  the  character 
of  the  place. 

Just  beyond  the  official  end  of  the  Bowery  there  is  a 
large  establishment  which  in  the  quality  and  prices  of  its 


POJ'ERTYVILLE 


25 


wares  rivals  the  fashionable  Broadway  clothing  stores, 
and  its  name  is  a  guarantee  of  excellence.  Not  far  away 
is  another  establishment  which  makes  the  most  preten- 
tious display  on  the  street.  This  is  another  of  the  few 
reliable  Bowery  clothing  stores ;  its  prices  are  somewhat 
higher  than  the  prices  current  on  the  Bowery  for  similar 
goods,  though  lower  than  Broadway  prices.  Near  by  is 
a  place  where  old  and  new  clothing  are  sold.  The 
prospective  purchaser  here  is  never  certain  that  he  is 
getting  what  he  wants.  Even  if  he  calls  for  a  second- 
hand suit  he  may  get  a  cheap  new  suit,  apparently  worn, 
bearing  the  name  of  a  fashionable  tailor. 

Further  down  the  street  are  several  stores  making 
considerable  window  display,  with  alluring  prices,  but 
rarely  will  a  purchaser  get  the  clothing  at  the  prices 
marked  unless  they  are  misfits,  that  is,  suits  made  to 
order  and  not  fitting  the  customers  who  ordered  them. 

In  many  stores  where  clothes  are  made  to  order,  bar- 
gaining is  the  rule.  The  experienced  purchaser  first  looks 
at  the  goods,  asks  the  price,  then  asks  to  see  the  lining, 
buttons,  etc.,  and  having  made  his  selection  he  begins  to 
''beat  down"  on  the  price.  He  will  offer  half,  the  dealer 
will  accept  three- fourths  and  they  compromise  on  two- 
thirds  of  the  price  originally  asked.  Having  given  a  de- 
posit he  demands  a  sample  of  the  goods,  lining  and  but- 
tons, otherwise  he  may  not  get  the  material  selected.  The 
fit  and  workmanship  will  generally  be  found  satisfactory. 

In  the  small  clothing  stores,  especially  those  in  which 


26 


P  O  I'  ERT  Y  V 1  LLE 


the  interior  is  dark,  the  best  goods  are "  poor  and  the 
cheapest  are  dear  at  any  price.  Bargaining  is  the  inva- 
riable rule  in  stores  selling  second-hand  goods.  Some  of 
these  stores  are  in  basements  or  hallways,  and  the  entire 
stock  is  near  the  door.  They  have  queer  methods  by 
which  they  replenish  their  stock.  Some  come  from  the 
''fences"  or  dealers  in  stolen  goods.  Some  come  from 
the  dealers  whose  familiar  cry  ''any  cast  clothes"  is  heard 
in  all  parts  of  the  city.  When  a  death  has  occurred  in 
a  family  a  dealer  visits  the  house  of  mourning  the  day 
following  the  funeral  and  either  begs  for  the  clothing  of 
the  deceased  or  ofifers  to  buy  them.  In  some  parts  of- 
the  city  the  dealer  goes  around  in  a  wagon  and  ofifers  tin- 
ware and  crockery  for  old  clothes,  shoes,  hats,-  etc. 
When  the  stock  is  low  he  will  buy  a  lot  of  auction  trash, 
either  goods  spoilt  in  the  making  or  goods  put  together 
in  the  cheapest  manner  possible,  to  be  sold  at  auction ; 
such  goods  are  then  slightly  wrinkled,  the  name  band  of 
some  well-known  clothier  is  attached,  and  they  are  sold 
as  second-hand.  Unless  the  would-be  purchaser  knows 
the  tricks  and  ways  of  second-hand  clothing  dealers  he 
will  be  deceived.  This  applies  to  almost  all  stores  where 
both  new  and  second-hand  goods  are  sold. 

The  extremes  found  in  clothing  stores  in  the  Bowery 
district  are  also  found  in  its  hat  and  shoe  stores.  Some 
Bowery  hatters  are  as  well  and  favorably  known  as  hat- 
ters in  fashionable  districts,  their  prices  are  lower  than 
Broadway  prices  for  the  same  quality  and  they  do  not  de- 


P OVERT y VI LLE 


27 


ceive  customers.  At  the  other  extreme  are  hatters  who 
do  not  occupy  stores  but  hire  a  room  on  an  upper  floor. 
One  of  these  sells  only  new  hats,  but  they  are  not  in  the 
prevailing  style  and  no  one  knows  what  becomes  of  the 
old  hats  brought  there  every  night  by  dealers  in  second- 
hand clothing. 

A  few  places  sell  only  old  hats  refurbished.  They 
buy  them  for  a  few  cents  apiece,  clean  and  reblock  them, 
put  in  a  new  sweat  band  and  hning  and  sell  them  for 
from  20  to  60  cents.  In  the  shoe  stores  there  is  little 
chance  for  deception,  but  bargaining  will  generally  avail. 
In  some,  where  standard  brands  are  sold,  the  salesman 
receives  a  commission  on  his  sales  and  he  will  always 
share  his  commission  with  a  purchaser. 

There  are  several  dealers  in  second-hand  shoes  on 
the  Bowery  and  in  the  "Bay,"  as  the  vicinity  of  Baxter 
Street  and  Park  Row  is  called.  They  buv  the  shoes 
from  rag  dealers  and  dealers  in  second-hand  clothing, 
patch  them  up,  put  on  heels  and  soles  and  polish  them. 
These  bring  from  50  to  75  cents  a  pair. 

Among  the  fifty  jewelry  stores  between  Brooklyn 
Bridge  and  Cooper  Union  there  are  a  few  which  are  hon- 
estly conducted,  where  gold  is  sold  as  gold  and  brass  as 
brass.  Many  are  unreliable  and  in  the  pawnbroker's  sales 
stores  even  experts  are  sometimes  deceived.  The  window 
displays  are  fair  criterions  of  the  character  of  these  estab- 
lishments, as  most  of  them  display  there  whatever  they 
have  of  value. 


28 


P  O  V  E  R  T  y  VI  LL  li 


The  largest  jewelry  store  on  the  Bowery  is  just  below 
Broome  Street.  This  is  one  of  the  few  stores  where  they 
do  not  permit  bargaining  and  they  charge  prices  accord- 
ing to  the  value  of  the  article.  These  prices  are  high  ac- 
cording to  Bowery  standards,  though  less  than  prices  on 
Broadway. 

A  small  place  near  Canal  Street  was  opened  by  a  Ger- 
man when  that  part  of  the  city  was  frequented  by  wealthy 
Germans  forty  years  ago.  He  still  sticks  to  the  old  spot, 
although  his  former  patrons  have  long  since  left  the 
neighborhood.  Another  one  of  these  old-timers  is  a  short 
distance  below.  They  conduct  their  business  now  as  they 
did  before  the  era  of  bargaining  began  on  the  Bowery, 
and  are  as  reliable  now  as  then.  In  most  stores,  how- 
ever, bargaining  is  the  rule  and  a  purchaser  who  is  not 
an  adept  at  this  method  of  doing  business  will  pay  more 
than  the  article  purchased  is  worth. 

In  the  pawnbrokers'  sales  store  the  purchaser  of 
jewelry,  unless  he  be  an  expert,  is  almost  certain  to  be 
imposed  upon.  The  dealers  are  shrewd  judges  of  the 
quality  and  value  of  jewelry,  and  only  in  estimating  the 
value  of  curios  are  they  liable  to  be  misled.  The  curio- 
hunter  will  pick  up  real  bargains  if  he  does  not  show  too 
great  concern  about  getting  what  he  wants.  If  he  ofifers 
to  pay  whatever  the  dealer  asks  the  dealer  at  once  as- 
sumes that  his  price  was  much  too  low  and  he  will  de- 
cline to  sell  it.  If  the  purchaser  will  offer  a  quarter  of 
the  dealer's  price  he  will  probably  get  it  at  half.    No  one 


P  OV  ERTYV ILLE 


29 


should  ever  buy  an  expensive  article  in  a  pawnbroker's 
sales  store  unless  he  knows  the  value  of  the  article.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  everything  is  second-hand  and 
no  manufacturer's  or  dealer's  guarantee  holds  good  on 
such  articles. 

The  source  of  the  goods  found  in  pawnbrokers'  sales 
stores  is  as  varied  as  in  second-hand  clothing  stores. 
Some  are  purchased  at  pawnbrokers'  sales,  some  at  ordi- 
nary auction  sales.  The  fence  disposes  of  his  property 
to  the  pawnbrokers'  sales  stores,  after  having  changed 
it  so  as  to  be  unrecognizable  by  the  real  owner.  Most 
of  the  *'fake"  jewelry  finds  its  way  into  these  stores. 
Very  little  is  purchased  from  strangers. 

A  comparatively  new  business  is  the  trade  in  pawn 
tickets.  Persons  pawning  articles  which  they  cannot  or 
do  not  wish  to  redeem,  sell  the  ticket  to  a  pawn  ticket 
dealer.  If  the  article  is  valuable  and  is  pledged  for  a 
small  amount,  the  dealer  redeems  it  and  pawns  it  again 
for  the  largest  amount  obtainable.  \Mien  a  ticket  is 
placed  on  sale  within  a  short  time  after  it  has  been  issued, 
the  pledger  has  secured  the  largest  amount  ]:>ossible  on 
the  article.  When  a  ticket  is  offered  shortly  before  its 
expiration,  the  pledger  was  probably  unable  to  redeem 
the  pledge  and  sold  the  ticket  for  anything  he  could  get. 
If  the  article  is  worth  redeeming  the  dealer  redeems  it, 
otherwise  he  risks  a  few  cents  in  the  purchase  of  the 
ticket,  for  which  he  will  charge  a  dollar  or  two  if  he  can 
dispose  of  it. 


30 


P O V E R T YVILLE 


Sometimes  a  pledger  requests  the  pawnbroker  to  issue 
the  ticket  for  a  larger  amount  than  the  pledger  receives 
on  the  article  pawned.  The  larger  the  amount  loaned 
the  more  valuable  the  article  is  supposed  to  be  and  the 
more  the  ticket  will  bring.  Of  course  this  is  only  done 
when  it  is  the  intention  of  the  pledger  to  dispose  of  the 
ticket.  When  one  intends  to  purchase  a  ticket  from  the 
pawn  ticket  dealer,  the  purchaser  goes  to  the  pawnshop 
accompanied  by  the  dealer's  clerk,  to  see  the  goods  he 
intends  to  purchase.  The  pownbroker  charges  25  cents 
for  showing  the  goods.  The  pawnshops  on  Park  Row 
and  the  Bowery  are  generally  reliable,  that  is,  they  do  not 
issue  ''raised"  pawn  tickets  nor  do  they  drop  tickets. 
Dropping  tickets  is  an  old  trick.  The  pawnbroker  buys  a 
lot  of  cheap,  plated  jewelry  and  each  piece  is  entered  as  a 
pledge,  tickets  ranging  from  one  to  five  dollars  being 
issued.  A  ticket  is  dropped  wherever  many  people  pass. 
The  finder  will  either  redeem  what  he  believes  to  be  an 
honest  pledge  or  will  pay  25  cents  for  the  privilege  of 
seeing  the  pawned  article.  If  the  finder  does  not  think 
the  article  is  worth  redeeming  he  will  try  to  sell  the  ticket, 
the  purchaser  again  paying  the  fee  for  showing  the  goods. 
The  first  fee  of  25  cents  is  probably  more  than  the  orig- 
inal cost  of  the  article. 

Besides  these  business  places  which  any  one  can  see 
when  passing,  there  are  several  peculiar  occupations  con- 
ducted on  the  Bowery,  legitimate  in  their  way,  yet  secret. 
One  of  these  is  the  manufacture  of  curiosities  and  men- 


POV  ERTYl'  I  LLE 


31 


strosities  for  museums.  IMermaids,  two-headed  calves, 
four-legged  chickens,  etc.,  are  made  here  to  order.  In 
another  establishment  relics  are  manufactured.  They 
turn  out  ancient  coins,  old  violins,  old  worm-eaten  furni- 
ture, flint  spear  heads,  "genuine"  old  masters'  paintings, 
crosses  and  boxes  made  of  wood  taken  from  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  armor  with  certificates  to  prove  that  it  was 
worn  by  some  famous  knight,  guns,  swords,  and  bullets 
picked  up  on  famous  battle  fields,  in  fact,  everything 
which  can  be  produced  cheaply,  can  pass  as  a  historical 
or  curious  relic  and  the  authenticity  of  which  cannot  be 
disproved. 

Within  a  few  doors  of  the  Bowery  is  a  shop  where 
crooked  gambling  utensils  are  made.  They  turn  out 
marked  cards,  loaded  and  shaped  ice,  brace  faro  boxes 
and  crooked  roulette  wheels. 

In  Elizabeth  Street  (one  block  west  of  the  Bowery) 
there  is  a  place  where  weapons  for  the  criminal  classes 
are  made.  Besides  the  revolver  which  they  buy  at  the 
pawnbroker's  sale  store,  the  professional  criminals  occa- 
sionally use  a  black  jack,  loaded  billy,  brass  knuckles, 
stiletto,  etc. 

The  black  jack  is  a  leather  bag  about  six  inches  long. 
The  upper  end  is  about  an  inch  wide  and  filled  with  fine 
shot.  The  lower  end  is  sewed  around  a  piece  of  rope 
and  forms  an  admirable  handle.  A  thong  at  the  lower 
end  is  intended  to  pass  around  the  wrist.  A  blow  on 
the  head  from  the  black  jack  will  knock  a  man  senseless 


32 


P  0  1'  n  R  T  ]'  !'  /  L  L  n 


without  breaking  his  skull.  The  loaded  billy  is  a  small 
club  with  a  piece  of  lead  in  a  cavity  in  the  lower  end. 
The  brass  knuckles  is  a  piece  of  iron  or  brass  about  four 
inches  long  and  half  an  inch  wide  with  four  holes  in  it 
for  the  fingers.  The  under  side  is  shaped  to  fit  the  hand 
when  the  hand  is  closed,  and  the  upper  side  is  left  as  a 
long  bar  or  shaped  like  rings.  A  blow  struck  with  it 
generally  breaks  the  bone. 

The  ordinary  Italian  stiletto  is  a  crude  double-edged 
narrow  blade  about  ten  inches  long,  with  a  plain  wooden 
handle.  The  sandbag  requires  no  skill  in  its  manufac- 
ture and  is  generally  made  by  the  criminal  himself.  A 
child's  stocking,  a  salt  bag  or  a  bag  made  of  any  stout 
material  is  taken,  the  lower  part  is  filled  with  sand  tightly 
pressed  in,  and  a  string  is  tied  around  the  part  holding 
the  sand.  The  upper  part  forms  the  handle.  This  acts 
like  the  black  jack.  A  piece  of  lead  pipe  is  sometimes 
used  instead. 

Another  extraordinary  occupation  is  that  of  slumming 
guide.  Slumming  parties  usually  get  a  police  official  to 
show  them  the  sights.  Those  who  do  not  know  how  to 
reach  the  officials  either  get  a  guide  from  a  hotel  or  ask 
a  barkeeper  in  a  saloon  on  the  Bowery  to  get  some  one 
to  show  them  around.  In  the  Chinatown  district  there 
are  several  saloons  where  such  guides  are  found,  and 
guides  offer  their  services  on  the  street.  They  show,  in 
addition  to  the  joss  house,  theater  and  restaurants,  an 
opium  joint,  and  if  there  are  no  ladies  in  the  party,  some 


POVERTY VILLE 


33 


of  the  vilest  of  the  dives.  Some  of  these  guides  show 
places  which  the  police  either  do  not  know,  dare  not 
show  or  cannot  obtain  admission  to.  The  guides  who 
of¥er  their  services  on  the  street  are  as  reliable  as  the 
saloon  guides,  charge  less  and,  while  most  are  shabbily 
dressed  and  coarse,  they  are  interesting  characters  and 
can  make  the  trip  taken  under  their  guidance  interesting. 

Park  Row,  north  of  the  bridge,  and  the  Bowery  con- 
tain 560  houses.  Of  these,  425  are  occupied  in  whole 
or  part  by  saloons,  cigar  stores,  lodging  houses,  restau- 
rants, places  dealing  in  men's  apparel  and  places  which 
are  patronized  almost  exclusively  by  men. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Jewish  theaters,  the  Atlan- 
tic Garden  and  the  dives,  its  places  of  amusement  are 
intended  for  men  alone.  There  are  shops  on  the  street 
which  employ  women  and  these  are  seen  in  the  morning 
and  evening  hours  going  to  and  from  their  work.  At 
other  times  the  Bowery  is  pre-eminently  the  man's  street 
in  Povertyville. 


CHAPTER  III 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  BOWl-RY. 

THE  history  of  the  Bowery  is  as  curious  as  the 
street  itself.  The  history  of  the  Bowery  takes  in 
what  was  originally  known  as  the  Bowery  Road,  which 
includes  the  present  Park  Row.  It  began  as  an  Indian 
trail  winding  about  the  foot  of  the  hills  which  extended 
along  the  length  of  Manhattan  Island,  skirting  the 
marshes  which  bordered  the  island  on  the  east.  This  is 
the  only  street  in  the  city  which  follows  an  Indian  trail 
throughout  its  length,  the  bend  at  Chatham  Square  still 
indicating  where  it  swept  around  the  foot  of  ^^'crpoes, 
the  Indian  name  of  a  hill  the  summit  of  which  is  now 
Park  and  Mott  streets. 

When  the  early  Dutch  settlers  established  their  farms 
or  **Boiiweries"  north  of  the  hill,  they  followed  this  trail 
when  going  to  and  from  the  city,  and  as  early  as  1647 
it  was  recognized  as  a  highway.  After  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant  pre-empted  the  land  from  Corlears  Hook  to  about 
30th  Street,  east  of  the  road,  for  his  Bouwerie  and  built 
his  house  near  the  present  St.  Mark's  Church,  he  ordered 
the  road  widened  to  his  house.  This  road,  completed  in 
1651,  was  called  the  Bouwerie  Patje,  or  Bouwerie  Weg, 
now  the  Bowery.    In  1689  the  road  was  extended  north- 


POVERTYVILLE 


35 


ward  as  a  carriage  road  and  ran  to  the  Harlem  Settlement 
and  Kingsbridge.  This  extension,  called  Boston  Road, 
Kingsbridge  Road,  Harlem  Road,  etc.,  is  wiped  out,  ex- 
cept St.  Nicholas  Avenue  and  a  part  of  upper  Broadway. 

The  earliest  road  out  of  the  city  was  the  Breede  Weg 
or  Broadway,  which  followed  its  present  line  to  City 
Hall  Park,  then  along  Park  Row  to  about  Baxter  Street, 
where  it  ended  at  a  brook  which  was  here  crossed  by  the 
Kissing  bridge.  North  of  this  bridge  was  the  Bouwerie 
Weg  or  Bowery,  the  only  road  leading  out  of  the  city 
until  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  The  earliest 
dwellers  on  the  road  were  a  number  of  manumitted  slaves, 
who,  in  1644,  established  their  farms  on  the  hill  west  of 
Chatham  Square  (Werpoes)  and  had  their  cattle  pasture 
east  of  the  road,  covering  part  of  the  present  square.  After 
Governor  Stuyvesant  established  his  farm  east  of. the  Bow^- 
ery,  farms  were  taken  up  on  the  west  side  of  the  street. 

About  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  the  Bowery 
was  a  broad  country  road  bordered  by  large  estates.  The 
Delancey  farm  extended  from  Chatham  Square  to  about 
Houston  Street.  What  is  now  Delancey  Street,  between 
Bowery  and  Chrystie  Street,  was  originally  the  private 
lane  to  the  Delancey  mansion.  The  tract  north  of  Hous- 
ton Street  was  divided  among  the  heirs  of  the  Dutch 
Governor.  Stuyvesant  Street,  w^hich  marks  the  limit 
of  the  Bowery,  was  the  lane  leading  to  the  Governor's 
house  and  is  the  only  street  remaining  of  the  original 
Bowery  village  except  the  main  road  itself. 


36 


POVERTYVILLE 


West  of  the  Bowery  was  the  Bayard  estate  north  of 
Canal  Street,  with  the  mansion  at  about  Broadway  and 
Broome  Streets,  Broome  Street  being-  on  the  line  of  the 
lane  leading  from  the  Bowery  to  the  house.  South  of 
the  Bayard  estate  was  the  Pell  estate  and  smaller  estates, 
the  land  being  cut  up  into  building  lots.  There  was  a 
cattle  market  south  of  Canal  Street  with  the  famous 
Bull's  Head  Tavern  adjoining  and  a  few  dwellings  south. 
In  1770  there  were  twelve  licensed  liquor  vendors  be- 
tween the  cattle  market  and  the  Commons  (City  Hall 
Park),  and  one  in  Bowery  village  about  where  4th  Ave- 
nue and  14th  Street  intersect.  Long  before  the  Revolu- 
tion the  lower  end  of  the  Bowery  became  what  the 
street  has  been  ever  since,  a  street  for  pleasure-seekers. 
\\'ithin  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  of  where  the  first  kissing 
bridge  stood  there  has  been  a  pleasure  garden  or  a  the- 
ater from  1661  till  1861. 

Near  the  upper  end  of  the  Bowery  stood  the  Bowery 
tavern,  famous  in  Colonial  history  as  the  meeting  place 
of  the  first  Colonial  Congress  in  1690,  when  the  New 
England  commissioners  refused  to  enter  the  city  on  ac- 
count of  the  prevailing  yellow  fever.  At  this  tavern  was 
celebrated  annually,  on  St.  John's  day,  the  feast  of  St. 
John's,  those  whose  given  name  was  John  participating. 
The  tavern  keeper,  John  Clapp,  became  locally  famous, 
having  introduced  the  first  hackney  coach  for  hire  in 
1696  and  the  first  almanac  the  following  year. 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE 


37 


During:  the  Revolution  the  Bowery,  being  the  only 
road  leading  to  the  city,  became  one  of  the  most  fre- 
quented streets.  A  line  of  fortifications  crossed  the  city 
from  Fort  Pitt,  about  where  Pitt  and  Grand  streets  meet, 
to  Richmond  Hill  Fort,  at  about  Spring  and  Thompson 
streets.  A  circular  fort  at  the  present  junction  of  For- 
syth and  Broome  streets  and  another  on  Bayard  Hill, 
near  where  Grand  and  Mott  streets  cross,  commanded 
the  Bowery  Road  and  troops  were  encamped  from  these 
forts  along  both  sides  of  the  road  to  the  Commons,  now 
City  Hall  Park. 

From  Grand  Street  to  the  Commons,  scores  of  drink- 
ing places  and  dance  halls  were  opened  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  troops,  and  at  this  early  day  the  lower 
end  of  the  Bowery  Road,  as  it  was  then  called,  had  ac- 
quired an  unenviable  reputation.  The  structures  erected 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  troops  were  of  a  temporary 
character  and  disappeared  at  the  end  of  the  war. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  Revolution  that  the  Bowery 
itself  showed  any  signs  of  activity.  The  Delancey  and 
the  Pell  estates  were  confiscated  by  the  state  government, 
sold  and  cut  up  into  building  lots. 

This  was  the  beginning- of  the  Bowery  as  a  residence 
street,  although  dwellings  had  already  appeared  at  its 
lower  and  upper  ends. 

A  few  of  these  early  buildings  are  still  standing.  A 
house  on  Pell  Street,  a  few  feet  from  the  Bowery,  is 


38 


POVERTYVILLE 


pointed  out  as  the  last  home  of  the  mythical  Charlotte 
Temple,  and  a  house  near  it  on  the  Bowery  has  been  oc- 
cupied as  a  drug  store  since  1807. 

The  career  of  the  Bowery  as  a  street  of  pleasure  re- 
sorts began  in  1797,  when  the  second  \^auxhall  Gardens 
were  opened  on  the  Bayard  Farm  after  the  original 
Vauxhall  Gardens  on  Greenwich  Street  were  closed. 
Five  years  later  the  garden  was  removed  to  Sperry's 
Botanical  Garden,  which  extended  from  about  4th  Street 
to  Astor  Place,  west  of  Bowery  to  Broadway.  The  last 
part  of  this  famous  resort  was  closed  in  1855.  Among 
the  famous  resorts  of  this  time  were  the  Crown  and 
Thistle  cofifee  house  at  about  96  Bowery,  the  Pig  and 
Whistle  Inn  at  131,  and  the  Duck  and  Frying  Pan  Tav- 
ern on  the  east  side  of  the  Bowery  just  above  North, 
now  Houston,  Street. 

In  the  early  thirties  the  Bowery  was  still  a  residence 
street,  almost  every  house  having  a  garden  patch  behind 
it  and  a  hitching  post  in  front.  A  number  of  houses  of 
this  period  are  still  standing. 

At  the  same  time  it  had  become  more  fully  fixed  as 
a  street  of  pleasure.  There  were  the  American  Theater 
(later  Bowery  Theater),  the  finest  theater  in  the  country, 
at  its  lower  end,  and  the  Vauxhall  Gardens  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  street ;  the  Gotham  Garden  was  opened  north 
of  Houston  Street,  and  taverns  had  made  their  appear- 
ance.   On  Park  Row  were  Franklin  Theater  near  Oliver 


POV  ERTYVILLE 


39 


Street,  Chatham  Theater  near  Roosevelt  Street,  and 
Blanchard's  Amphitheater,  formerly  Chatham  Garden, 
near  Pearl  Street. 

Before  the  Civil  War  the  Bowery  had  become  the 
most  popular  thoroughfare  in  New  York.  The  staid  old 
American  families  had  left  the  neighborhood,  that  ex- 
aggerated type  of  American  known  as  the  "Bowery  Boy" 
had  appeared,  and  the  German  invasion  had  begun.  The 
German  Stadt  Theater,  the  Deutcher  \"olks  Garden  and 
the  Atlantic  Garden  had  been  opened,  there  was  now  a 
new  Bowery  Theater  near  Hester  Street,  as  well  as  the 
old  Bowery  Theater  near  Canal  Street,  and  a  number  of 
new  garden  resorts. 

The  character  of  the  street  and  its  frequenters  had 
entirely  changed  in  a  quarter  of  a  century.  There  were 
many  small  stores  on  the  thoroughfare,  but  no  imputa- 
tion of  doubt  or  distrust  rested  upon  its  merchants. 

The  broadest  and  brightest  street  in  the  city  at  that 
time,  it  attracted  all  who  liked  crowds  and  excitement 
and  drove  away  the  quiet-loving  and  refined  families  of 
the  former  generation.  It  had  become  a  street  with  a 
reputation.  \\\X\\  the  close  of  the  war  there  came  an- 
other change.  The  boys  in  blue,  flushed  with  victory 
and  with  the  savings  of  years  in  their  pockets,  came  to 
the  Metropolis.  The  Bowery  was  the  magnet,  for  there 
were  now  theaters,  concert  halls,  gambling  houses  and 
dives,  a  blind  police  force  and  a  worse  than  blind  admin- 
istration. 


40 


POVERTY r I LLE 


It  was  the  beginning-  of  the  i^olden  era  of  the  Bow- 
ery's prosperity  (for  vice  often  prospers  in  spite  of  a 
punitive  hereafter  and  a  pohceman's  night  stick). 

A  decade  later  the  Bowery  was  a  street  of  gHttering 
vice,  while  the  "Tenderloin"  was  still  in  its  infancy. 

There  were  the  Sans  Souci,  the  Louvre,  the  Moulin 
Rouge,  the  Jardin  Mabille  and  a  score  of  similar  places, 
with  colored  glass  lamps,  flaming  posters  and  red  cur- 
tains, behind  which  black-eyed  damsels  tapped  on  win- 
dows to  attract  the  attention  of  the  uninitiated.  The 
curious  novice  who  entered  one  of  these  places  generally 
paid  the  female  vampires  whatever  of  value  he  had  about 
him  and  then  came  ofif  cheaply. 

And  the  peripatetic  sisterhood  was  found  all  along 
the  thoroughfare,  paying  their  police  ])rotectors  liberally 
for  the  privilege  of  occupying  choice  dark  corners  and 
even  for  walking  along  the  street. 

The  Bowery  had  become  disreputable. 

Another  decade  and  we  find  another  change.  It  was 
still  a  street  of  pleasure,  but  vice  was  disappearing,  most 
of  the  dives  and  foul  resorts  were  gone  and  a  foreign 
population  had  invaded  the  street.  It  was  in  a  transition 
stage.  Business  houses  were  taking  the  place  of  its  dives 
and  concert  halls,  merchants  were  coming  to  the  Bowery 
and  it  was  fast  losing  its  unsavory  reputation,  when  a 
peculiar  incident  occurred  to  throw  it  back  to  the  days 
of  the  early  seventies.  The  song  'The  Bowery,"  where 
"they  do  such  things  and  they  say  such  things,"  aj^pcared, 


POJ'ERTYVILLE 


41 


and  its  catchy  air  made  it  popular.  Never  did  a  popular 
song  have  a  more  pernicious  effect.  The  notoriety  of 
the  Bowery  was  at  once  revived,  business  men  would  not 
establish  themselves  on  the  street,  building  operations 
ceased,  real  estate  values  dropped  and  the  improvement 
in  the  street  received  a  sudden  check.  Reputable  mer- 
chants who  had  been  in  business  on  the  Bowery  for  years 
were  obliged  to  move  away  to  escape  the  odium  cast  upon 
the  street  and  reflected  upon  themselves. 

Their  place  was  taken  by  the  disreputable  class  who 
had  been  stigmatized  in  the  song,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
Bowery  fully  deserved  all  the  notoriety  which  the  song 
had  forced  upon  it. 

There  was,  however,  a  marked  difference  between 
the  disreputable  class  of  1887  and  that  of  1877.  The 
latter  was  the  class  now  found  in  the  Tenderloin,  the 
places  were  bright,  full  of  light  and  color,  there  was  an 
air  of  prosperity  about  them,  and  as  there  was  no  ele- 
vated structure  to  darken  the  street,  tinsel  could  be  used 
effectively.  \^ice  was  made  attractive  to  the  novice  and 
many  of  its  votaries  who  later  patronized  the  fashionable 
vicious  resorts  of  the  Tenderloin  were  found  at  that  time 
on  the  Bowery.  In  1887  the  Bowery  was  dark,  dull  and 
gloomy,  a  foreign  population  had  invaded  it  and  its  re- 
sorts were  poor  in  appearance  and  attracted  only  a  poor 
and  unresponsive  throng.  The  presence  of  the  unsightly 
elevated  structure  was  mainly  responsible  for  the  changed 
appearance  of  the  Bowery. 


42 


P  Q]-  n  R  T  )'  r  I  LLE 


Since  then  tlie  foreign  element  lias  taken  possession 
of  the  street  and  lias  monopolized  its  ])leasures.  The 
trade  of  the  street,  except  its  saloons,  is  mainly  in  the 
hands  of  Americanized  Jews. 

Today  the  Bowery  is  again  in  a  transition  stage,  and 
what  promises  to  be  a  permanent  improvement  in  its 
character  is  now  taking  place.  Its  concert  halls  are  going 
and  almost  gone,  and  with  them  the  "Barker"  and  the 
''Bouncer,"  the  one  strong  of  voice  to  lure  the  wretches 
in,  the  other  strong  of  arm  to  throw  them  out. 

The  colored  lamps  and  curtains  are  gone,  let  us  hope 
forever,  and  even  the  midnight  wanderers  who  formerly 
stood  at  choice  corners,  waiting  for  victims,  no  longer 
ply  their  trade  at  their  accustomed  stands.  True,  they 
can  still  be  found  on  the  street,  their  painted  cheeks,  fur- 
tive glances  and  barely  audible  whispers  as  they  hurry 
past  a  possible  patron,  revealing  their  vocation.  But  law 
and  order  have  driven  them  from  the  street  and  into  the 
rear  rooms  of  the  dives,  where  they  are  out  of  sight  of 
all  but  those  who  seek  them. 

Business  houses  are  now  replacing  many  notorious 
resorts,  magnificent  buildings  are  in  process  of  erection 
along  the  thoroughfare,  vice,  its  haunts  and  votaries  are 
carefully  hidden  from  the  public  gaze,  and  the  shady 
reputation  of  the  Bowery  is  fast  disappearing. 

But  to  those  who  know  the  open  sesame  there  are 
still  its  dives  and  dance  halls,  its  gambling  houses,  its 
opium  joints,  its  sporting  houses  and  all  that  went  to 
make  up  the  Bowery  of  old. 


CHAPTER  IV 


DIVES  AND  DENS, 

THERE  is  no  sharp  dividinc^  line  between  the  re- 
spectable saloon  and  the  dive,  between  the  clean 
music  hall  and  the  vicious  concert  hall,  between  the  rep- 
utable bar-room  and  the  disreputable  dance  hall.  There 
is  a  wide  difference  between  the  extremes,  but  there  are 
many  grades  between  them. 

There  is  the  saloon  to  which  women  are  not  admitted, 
which  has  no  family  entrance  or  side  room,  and  which 
offers  no  attraction  or  inducement  to  the  vicious. 

There  is  the  saloon  which  has  a  private  office 
reached  from  a  side  entrance,  with  a  table  and  a  couple 
of  chairs.  There  is  the  saloon  with  a  small  back  room 
having  several  tables,  and  reached  through  the  side  en- 
trance, where  men  may  take  their  female  companions  but 
women  unaccompanied  by  men  are  not  admitted.  And 
thus  the  grade  goes  down  to  the  low  dive,  with  its  small, 
bare-looking  bar-room  and  its  large  rear  room  holding  a 
score  or  more  of  tables,  twice  as  many  chairs,  its  piano 
and  piano  professor,  its  waiters,  its  bouncer,  its  satvrs, 
and  its  nymphs.  The  barroom  is  used  onlv  to  supplv 
the  waiters  and  negatively  to  announce  the  presence  of 
a  rear  room. 


44 


P O V ERTYV I LLE 


This  room  is  reached  through  a  side  or  "family" 
entrance,  and  here  the  women  assemble  after  dark,  drink, 
plan  and  make  appointments  with  the  men  who  seek  them. 

The  professor  thumps  the  piano,  his  foot  upon  the 
open  pedal  to  increase  the  volume  of  sound  so  that  it  may 
be  heard  on  the  street,  but  neither  melody  nor  harmony 
is  expected.  Occasionally  one  of  the  habitues  or  a  waiter 
will  sing  a  popular  air,  with  piano  accompaniment,  but 
delicacy  of  touch,  word  or  sentiment  is  not  appreciated. 
The  dive  is  not  patronized  by  day,  but  as  soon  as  dark- 
ness sets  in  the  women  arrive,  generally  in  pairs,  followed 
by  their  lovers.  A  few  waiters  are  on  hand,  the  head- 
waiter  acting  in  the  dual  capacity  of  overseer  and 
bouncer.  The  manager  sits  near  the  door  where  he  can 
overlook  the  place,  observe  each  newcomer  and  watch 
the  waiters  as  they  emerge  from  the  barroom  with  drinks. 
The  women  in  the  dives  are  without  exception  disrep- 
utable, the  men  are  their  lovers,  those  seeking  the  favors 
of  the  mercenary  sybarites,  and  sightseers. 

The  last  are  not  popular,  receive  scant  courtesy,  and 
unless  they  order  drinks  frequently  they  are  made  to  feel 
that  their  presence  is  undesirable. 

If  a  visitor  sits  at  a  table  at  which  a  woman  is  seated 
he  is  expected  to  treat  her.  Formal  introductions  are 
unknown.  "Say,  Sis,  what's  yours?"  combines  the  intro- 
duction, the  invitation  to  drink  and  the  opening  of  a  con- 
versation leading  to  business. 


POVERTY VILLE 


45 


If  the  visitor  is  a  stranger  she  will  order  sherry,  for 
which  he  will  pay  25  cents,  but  if  he  is  a  frequenter  of 
such  places  he  will  deliberately  order  two  beers  and  she 
will  rarely  refuse.  The  knowing-  ones  order  seltzer 
water  or  a  shell  of  beer,  the  shell  being  a  small,  thin 
tumbler. 

The  "professor"  is  expected  to  play  from  dark  to 
midnight,  and  loud  enough  to  drown  ordinary  conversa- 
tion, but  he  can  never  play  so  loud  as  to  drown  the  wait- 
er's "Give  your  orders,  gents !"  The  sightseer  is  perfectly 
safe  in  the  ordinary  dive  so  long  as  he  remains  sober, 
sticks  to  seltzer  water  or  beer,  is  provided  with  small 
change  and  does  not  lose  his  temper. 

If  he  loses  his  temper  he  is  liable  to  be  thrown  out ;  if 
he  gives  a  large  bill  to  the  waiter,  the  latter  may  decamp 
or  practice  the  flimflam  game,  a  sleight-of-hand  trick 
whereby  he  extracts  a  bill  after  having  counted  the 
change  in  the  presence  of  the  visitor.  When  a  visitor  is 
partly  intoxicated  one  of  the  wretches  will  sit  on  his  lap, 
throw  one  arm  around  his  neck  in  a  fond  embrace,  and 
while  he  is  enjoying  her  caresses,  her  other  hand  is  dis- 
engaging his  watch  and  emptying  his  pockets. 

The  booty  is  passed  to  her  lover  who  sits  behind  her. 
If  the  victim  creates  a  disturbance  when  discovering  his 
loss,  the  bouncer's  services  are  brought  into  requisition. 

The  dives  of  a  generation  ago  were  bright,  fairly 
well  furnished,  with  some  attempt  at  ornamentation. 
The  Bowery  dive  of  today  is  a  bare,  repellant  place. 


46 


P  O  V  ERT  YV I LLE 


The  most  notorious  in  recent  years  was  McGurk's  Sport- 
ing House,  commonly  known  as  Suicide  Hall.  It  re- 
ceived its  gruesome  pseudonym  after  several  of  its  fre- 
quenters committed  suicide  there.  The  saloon  part  in 
front  was  bare  of  furniture  except  a  bar  and  a  back  bar. 
It  was  rarely  patronized.  Behind  the  saloon,  and  sepa- 
rated from  it  by  a  partition,  was  a  large  room  holding 
thirty  tables,  over  a  hundred  chairs  and  a  piano.  The 
walls,  where  not  bare,  were  hidden  behind  theatrical  post- 
ers and  lithographs.  The  owner's  station  was  near  one 
corner,  from  which  he  could  overlook  the  place  without 
being  seen  from  the  entrance,  while  the  head-waiter  and 
bouncer,'  an  ex-pugilist,  stood  near  the  door.  The  en- 
trance to  the  rear  room  was  through  a  hall  adjoining 
the  saloon,  the  entrance  from  the  saloon  being  used  by 
the  waiters.  This  place  was  crowded  nightly,  every 
woman  from  the  street  drifting  in  once  or  oftener  in  the 
course  of  the  evening.  The  place  was  popular  with  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  and  its  cards  were  found  in  sailors' 
resorts  all  over  the  world.  Notwithstanding  its  notorious 
character  it  had  a  singular  record.  If  a  woman  robbed 
a  visitor  while  in  this  dive,  whether  caught  in  the  act  or 
afterwards  identified  by  the  man  whose  companion  she 
had  been,  she  was  compelled  to  disgorge  her  booty  and 
could  not  again  enter  the  place.  This  in  part  accounted 
for  its  popularity. 

Its  open  violation  of  the  law  and  the  publicity  given 
to  it  by  the  suicides  committed  there  marked  it  as  the  first 


POVERTYVILLE 


47 


to  go  when  a  reform  administration  began  its  town- 
cleaning  crusade  in  1901. 

The  Pahn  Garden  was  another  notorious  resort  closed 
at  the  same  time.  The  habitues  of  this  place  were  a 
beastly  lot  of  creatures,  with  whom  even  the  depraved 
wretches  of  the  Bowery  would  not  consort.  There  are 
few  public  places  of  this  character  in  this  city,  for  the 
penalty  is  heavy  and  no  mercy  is  shown,  as  there  is  no 
excuse  for  their  bestiality. 

The  Slide,  a  resort  of  this  kind,  was  raided  a  few 
years  ago  and  the  proprietor  spent  years  in  jail,  notwith- 
standing his  wealth  and  political  prominence.  Afterward 
the  habitues  assembled  in  a  dive  on  Chrystie  Street  which 
they  called  the  Palm.  When  too  much  publicity  was 
given  to  this  place,  the  proprietor,  "French  Lou,"  moved 
to  a  saloon  in  Fifth  Street  near  the  Bowery,  known  to 
the  police  for  years  as  the  headquarters  of  the  "Reds" 
or  rabid  anarchists.  This  was  then  called  the  "Xew 
Palm."  Complaints  from  the  tenants  of  the  house  com- 
pelled the  police  to  close  the  saloon  and  the  wretches 
scattered.    They  now  congregate  in  a  clubroom. 

After  McGurk's  Sporting  House  was  closed  the  other 
Bowery  dives  either  closed  their  doors  or  were  conducted 
so  quietly  that  only  regular  frequenters  knew  of  their 
existence.  The  piano  players  were  discharged,  singing 
and  dancing  were  prohibited,  and  strangers  were  not  ad- 
mitted during  the  prohibited  hours  (1  to  5  A.  M.). 


48 


P  OV  ERT y V  I LLE 


L}nch's  White  House,  near  Grand  Street,  and  the 
Rosedalc,  near  Fifth  Street,  had  apparently  sufficient  in- 
fluence to  run  openly  until  1903,  when  both  closed  their 
doors.  There  are  still  a  number  of  dives  on  and  near 
the  Bowery,  not  run  under  distinctive  titles,  and  all  con- 
ducted so  quietly  that  they  are  not  known  to  be  dives 
except  by  their  re.c^ular  patrons.  A  glance  through  the 
side  door,  however,  will  disclose  the  large  room  at  the 
end  of  the  hall.  One  dive  just  west  of  the  Bowery  was 
conducted  under  a  distinctive  title  and  in  the  old  style 
until  1006,  and  in  the  winter  of  1908-1909  several  dives 
and  dance  halls  were  opened  near  Chatham  Square. 

A  saloon  still  doing  business  near  Catherine  Street 
is  the  refuge  of  the  old,  haggard,  tattered  wretches, 
women  who  have  reached  the  lowest  depths  of  poverty 
and  depravity,  who  would  not  be  admitted  to  any  other 
resort.  The  men  who  frequent  this  place  are  fit  mates 
for  the  women.  The  ''Flea  Bag,"  on  Park  Row,  is  a 
similar  resort.  A  dive  on  ]\Iott  Street,  near  Chatham 
Square,  is  frequented  mainly  by  opium  habitues :  the 
women  are  younger  and  more  depraved  than  in  the  other 
resorts  of  this  character.  The  saloon  part  in  these  is  like 
the  ordinary  Bowery  morgue,  the  back  room  is  generally 
filthy,  poorly  lighted,  and  altogether  repulsive.  Some  of 
these  places  are  the  rendezvous  for  petty  thieves  and  pick- 
pockets of  the  district. 

Places  of  this  character  frequently  change  hands 
(nominally),  the  actual  proprietor  securing  a  new  license 


POVERTYVILLE 


49 


under  an  alias  or  in  the  name  of  the  manager  or  a 
dummy,  whenever  a  serious  complaint  is  made  against 
him  or  his  place  by  which  his  license  is  forfeited. 

The  Oxford  Hotel  is  a  Raines  Law  hotel,  and  was 
formerly  a  dive.  The  saloon  part  is  like  the  ordinary 
Bowery  corner  liquor  store.  Behind  it  is  a  small  room 
reached  only  from  the  side  street.  Here,  seated  at  six 
tables,  was  a  low  type  of  the  Bowery  wretch,  human 
harpies  whose  specialty  was  drunken  sailors.  The  women 
were  old,  ugly  and  vicious,  and  no  artifice  could  make 
them  acceptable  to  a  man  in  his  sober  senses.  Above  the 
room  is  the  hotel  to  which  they  took  their  victims  when 
the  latter  had  reached  the  state  of  imbecility.  The  place 
was  owned  by  a  notorious  dive-keeper,  but  run  in  the 
name  of  another.  This  and  several  similar  Bowery  re- 
sorts have  recently  given  up  the  dive  adjunct  and  an- 
nounce that  they  are  conducted  under  a  new  manage- 
ment, renting  rooms  to  gentlemen  only.  This  is  one  of 
the  results  of  an  honest  police  administration.  Nearby 
is  one  of  the  few  brothel  dives  left  in  that  vicinity. 

Another  Oxford  on  the  Bowery  is  a  gaudy  saloon 
where  small  politicians  congregate.  Flynn's  saloon,  cor- 
ner Pell  Street,  the  headquarters  of  ''Chuck  Connors," 
is  a  tough  liquor  store  where  old  rounders  are  supplied 
in  the  back  room.  Steve  Brodie's  is  at  present  the  best 
known  of  the  low  Bowery  saloons. 

The  Rosedale,  recently  closed,  was  another  Raines 
Law  hotel  and  dive.    It  was  frequented  by  the  peripatetic 


50 


P  OVERT  y  V  I LLE 


sisterliood  their  panders,  and  some  of  the  former  Pahn 
habitues.  The  reputed  manager  of  this  resort  has  run 
similar  resorts  on  and  near  the  Bowery  for  twenty  years, 
each  place  running  a  few  months  and  then  closed  (by 
the  advice  of  the  police?),  and  a  new  place  under  a  dif- 
ferent name  opened  nearby.  The  manager  has  consider- 
able political  weight  in  the  district,  and  has  never  been 
troubled  by  the  police.    He  has  now  a  Tenderloin  resort. 

Many  of  the  female  frequenters  of  the  Rosedale  and 
similar  places  in  the  same  locality  were  women  who  had 
just  come  from  the  more  pretentious  Fourteenth  Street 
resorts.  There  is  a  gradual  downward  path  for  these 
women.  Starting  at  the  fashionable  resorts  in  the  Ten- 
derloin, they  pass  down  Sixth  Avenue  to  Fourteenth 
Street,  then  down  Third  Avenue  to  the  Bowery,  where, 
near  the  upper  end,  they  first  reach  places  like  the  Rose- 
dale.  As  they  go  down  they  finally  reach  the  tough  dives 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  Bowery  and  on  Park  Row. 

On  Hester  Street,  not  far  from  the  Bowery,  is,  per- 
haps, the  dirtiest  of  the  Raines  Law  hotel  dives  in  the 
district. 

What  the  Bowery  morgue  is  for  the  men,  this  place 
is  for  the  women,  a  foul  liquor-store  with  a  small  side 
room  where  these  depraved  creatures  can  drink  whiskey 
by  the  tumblerful. 

The  women  are  coarse,  vile,  ugly  and  old,  and  rarely 
succeed  in  capturing  a  victim,  although  their  favors  can 
be  had  for  the  price  of  a  drink. 


POVERTY VILLE 


51 


If  the  price  of  a  room  in  a  Raines  Law  hotel  is  any 
criterion  of  its  standing,  this  one  is  at  the  foot,  for  a 
room  can  be  had  here  for  25  cents  a  night. 

On  the  same  street,  west  of  the  Bowery,  is  a  similar 
Raines  Law  hotel  and  dive,  having  a  somewhat  cleaner 
saloon. 

These  two  places  are  not  dives  as  the  word  is  under- 
stood on  the  Bowery,  the  side  or  back  room  being  merely 
an  adjunct  to  the  hotel  and  saloon.  Almost  every  Raines 
Law  hotel  on  the  Bowery  has  such  a  side  or  back  room 
where  the  preliminaries  leading  to  the  engagement  of  a 
room  up-stairs  are  made. 

The  old  time  dance  halls  such  as  were  conducted  by 
Harry  Hill  and  Billy  IMcGlory  have  disappeared  from  the 
Bowery.  In  their  stead  dancing  is  sometimes  indulged 
in  in  the  dives.  The  tables  and  chairs  in  the  middle  of 
the  room  are  pushed  aside,  giving  a  clear  space  where 
those  present  can  dance  to  the  music  of  a  piano.  There 
are  no  square  dances,  but  a  waiter  calls  out,  ''take  part- 
ners for  a  dance,"  the  men  ask  any  of  the  women  to 
''step  up  for  a  turn,"  and  away  they  whirl.  The  dance 
may  be  a  waltz,  polka,  schottische  or  galop,  the  time  of 
the  music  depending  upon  the  mood  of  the  piano  player. 
All  is  called  "spieling." 

After  the  dance  the  tables  are  pushed  back  and  the 
place  becomes  a  dive  again. 

The  Emerald  on  Chatham  Square  is  the  largest  and 
gaudiest  of  the  dance  hall  dives. 


52 


P  OV  ERT  YV I LLE 


There  are  several  ballrooms  in  Povertyville,  in  which 
dances  are  held  nightly  during  the  winter,  sometimes  by 
respectable  parties,  sometimes  by  the  vicious,  and  by  ficti- 
tious clubs. 

When  not  regularly  engaged  the  proprietor  of  one 
of  these  halls  hangs  a  sign  on  the  door  announcing  that 

  Social  Club  will  hold  its  annual  ball  that 

evening.  No  tickets  are  sold  in  advance,  the  admission 
fee,  usually  25  cents,  admitting  ''gent  and  ladies,"  being 
paid  on  entering.  When  women  come  unaccompanied  by 
men  they  wait  before  the  door  until  some  man  without  a 
companion  is  about  to  enter.  They  will  either  ask  him  to 
pass  them  in  or  they  will  follow  in  his  wake  as  his 
.''ladies."  In  this  way  the  women  of  the  street  get  in 
without  paying  the  admission  fee. 

There  is  no  printed  dance  program,  a  floor  manager 
calling  out  the  dances,  the  intervals  between  them  being 
regulated  by  the  number  of  people  drinking  at  the  tables. 
In  the  course  of  the  evening  women  will  find  com- 
panions who  will  accompany  them  home  or  to  nearby 
hotels,  and  by  midnight  most  of  the  men  are  gone.  The 
ball  then  comes  to  an  end.  The  proprietor's  returns  are 
derived  from  admission  fees,  hat  checks  and  drinks  sold. 

Sometimes  a  hall  is  engaged  by  a  dive-keeper  or  a 
few  sports,  who  form  a  temporary  club.  The  tickets 
are  sold  or  given  away,  the  returns  from  the  hat  box 
covering  all  expenses.  At  these  balls  the  women  are  ad- 
mitted free,  and  those  who  ordinarily  seek  them  at  the 


P O V ERTYVILLE 


53 


dives  go  on  such  nights  to  the  ball.  It  is  at  these  affairs 
that  the  tough  dances  so  grossly  caricatured  on  the  vaude- 
ville stage  can  be  seen.  The  Bowery  tough  who  attends 
such  balls  does  not  possess  a  dress  suit,  high  hat,  white 
shirt,  cuffs  or  patent  leather  pumps.  The  dress  suit  can 
be  hired  and  by  basting  and  pinning  can  be  made  to  fit. 
The  ordinary  colored  shirt  or  a  celluloid  shirt  front  takes 
the  place  of  a  white  one.  Where  the  shirt  front  is  used 
the  cuffs  are  pinned  to  the  sleeves  of  the  coat.  The 
tough  does  not  know  how  to  wear  a  high  hat,  although 
one  can  be  hired  for  twenty-five  cents.  As  for  dancing- 
shoes,  his  brogans  serve  him  better  than  pumps.  A  white 
collar,  a  bow  or  a  four-in-hand  tie,  white  or  colored,  and 
a  rhinestone  pin  complete  his  ball  outfit.  This  is,  how- 
ever, only  used  on  state  occasions.  At  the  ordinary 
dances,  such  as  are  conducted  by  the  hall  proprietor,  his 
ordinary  suit,  generally  the  only  one  he  has,  is  worn. 
The  women  have  no  ball  dresses.  On  special  occasions 
they  hire  a  silk  dress  or  wear  a  gauzy  summer  waist, 
black  skirt,  and  imitation  jewelry. 

The  program  consists  almost  wholly  of  round  dances, 
these  being  the  most  popular  with  the  dancers  and  most 
productive  of  thirst,  hence  most  profitable  to  the  bar. 
While  the  women  are  fairly  good  dancers  as  a  rule,  the 
men,  with  few  exceptions,  know  one  step,  a  polka  or 
schottische,  rarely  a  waltz,  timing  the  step  to  the  time  of 
the  music  or  breaking  into  a  galop  irrespective  of  the 


54 


POVERTY  VI LLE 


music.  This  end  galop  is  the  mild  prototype  of  the  tough 
dance  of  the  stage. 

While  there  is  less  grace  there  is  often  more  decorum 
at  these  dances  than  at  some  so-called  fashionable  balls 
held  in  New  York  every  winter. 

The  saddest  feature  of  these  dances  is  the  opportunity 
they  offer  working  girls  of  the  vicinity  to  dance.  The 
girls  go,  are  admitted  free,  and  being,  as  a  rule,  more 
attractive  than  the  brazen  women  of  the  street,  are 
sought  after  by  the  men.  Many  of  the  women  of  the 
street  began  their  downward  career  at  these  balls  or 
soirees,  as  they  are  sometimes  called. 

The  Bowery  concert-hall  is  an  institution  which  de- 
pends for  its  existence  upon  the  temper  of  the  police. 
Under  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  theatrical  law  the  or- 
dinaiy  Bowery  concert-hall  can  not  be  run  profitably, 
and  with  an. efficient  police  force  carrying  out  the  spirit  of 
the  law  there  are  but  few  concert-halls  on  the  Bowery. 

One  of  these,  the  Atlantic  Garden,  has  been  referred 
to.  In  spite  of  the  degeneration  of  the  neighborhood  it 
has  maintained  its  respectability,  and  is  to-day  the  only 
place  of  its  kind  on  the  street  to  which  a  man  can  take 
his  wife  in  safety. 

The  Casino,  a  Jewish  vaudeville  hall,  having  little  to 
attract  the  American,  was  recently  closed.  The  Oriental 
Music  Hall,  on  Grand  Street,  and  several  other  similar 
places  are  ordinary  concert  halls,  frequented  mainly  by 


POV  ERTYV ILLE 


55 


Jews.  They  have  nothing  to  recommend  them,  and 
there  is  httle  to  criticize.  They  are  poor,  but  not  vicious 
places  Hke  the  next  described  hall 

The  Lyceum  Music  Hall  represents  a  type  which 
keeps  within  the  law,  but  approaches  the  line  of  inde- 
cency so  closely  that  a  man  would  not  take  his  wife  or 
daughter  into  it.  This  type  has  its  stage,  dressing  rooms, 
paid  performers,  and  runs  under  a  concert  license,  but  it 
has  also  its  barker  and  its  bouncer,  its  persistent  waiters, 
and  disreputable  women  at  the  tables.  Admission  is  free, 
but  the  visitor  is  expected  to  drink,  and  not  dally  too 
long  over  one  glass.  The  orchestra  consists  of  a  violin 
and  a  piano,  the  performers  are  three  or  four  women, 
who  sing  and  dance  at  irregular  intervals.  When  visit- 
ors enter,  a  performer  is  called  out  to  sing  or  dance. 
When  there  are  few  people  in  the  room  the  performers 
do  not  appear.  Their  songs  are  popular  airs  with  varia- 
tions coarsely  suggestive,  even  to  vileness ;  their  dances, 
the  ordinary  clog  and  jig.  They  are  not  permitted  to 
appear  in  costume  among  the  audience,  but  they  convert 
the  stage  dress  into  a  street  dress  in  a  minute,  and  then 
appear  on  the  floor  drinking  with  admirers. 

Places  of  this  description  do  not  pay,  as  those  looking 
for  good  vaudeville  where  admission  is  free  and  they 
can  drink  and  smoke,  go  to  the  Atlantic  Garden  or  to 
the  resorts  further  uptown,  while  those  looking  for  de- 
pravity find  what  they  want  in  the  dives. 


56 


P  O  J'  E  R  T  V  J'  I  LL  E 


The  typical  low  Bowery  concert-liall  can  only  exist 
when  the  most  liheral  construction  is  put  upon  the  the- 
atrical law,  and  the  police  then  refuse  to  see  its  evasion 
and  violation,  lender  the  present  police  administration 
not  one  is  running  on  the  Bowery,  but  as  soon  as  the 
word  is  passed  out  that  there  will  be  no  police  interfer- 
ence, they  spring  up  over  night.  A  manager  who  has 
the  proper  kind  of  influence  hires  a  large  store,  covers 
the  windows  with  flaring  theatrical  posters,  and  an- 
nounces that  a  concert  hall  will  be  opened  the  next  day. 

A  few  boards  ])laced  upon  a  couple  of  carpenter's 
horses  at  the  further  end  of  the  store  form  the  stage.  A 
screen  at  the  side  of  the  stage  is  the  makeshift  for  a 
dressing  room,  and  a  larger  screen  placed  near  the  door 
hides  the  interior  from  the  gaze  of  the  passerby.  A  piano, 
a  score  or  more  of  tables  and  twice  as  many  chairs  are 
hired  and  put  in  during  the  day.  A  bar  and  an  ice  box 
are  placed  near  the  entrance  or  in  the  cellar.  The  piano 
goes  near  the  stage.  An  electric  light  within,  a  gas 
bracket  with  colored  globes  and  a  billboard  covered  with 
theatrical  posters  outside,  complete  the  equipment  of  the 
place.  The  glassware,  screens,  stage,  outside  gas  bracket 
and  billboard  must  be  paid  for  immediately,  the  other 
things  are  hired. 

All  these  are  secured  and  put  in  place  within  a  few 
hours  after  the  store  is  rented.  When  such  places  are 
allowed  to  exist  there  is  no  difficulty  in  securing  an  ex- 
cise and  a  concert  license. 


POVERTY r I LLE 


57 


The  help  necessary  are  a  manager,  a  ''barker,"  who 
stands  before  the  door  shouting  its  attractions,  a 
"bouncer,"  whose  principal  duty  is  to  throw  out  unde- 
sirable visitors,  a  few  waiters,  and  the  professor,  a  poor 
devil  who  is  willing  to  thump  the  piano  for  fifty  cents 
a  night. 

The  bouncer  is  usually  a  pugilist  obtained  from  a 
sporting  resort,  the  others  are  secured  from  the  lodging- 
houses.  The  talent  consists  of  some  of  the  women  of  the 
street,  and  sometimes  a  waiter,  all  volunteers.  The  sup- 
ply far  exceeds  the  demand,  for  it  gives  the  women  a 
chance  to  appear  on  the  stage,  and  they  thereafter  call 
themselves  actresses,  and  it  brings  them  prominently  be- 
fore the  public  in  the  place,  with  the  greater  opportunity 
of  securing  patrons  from  among  the  audience.  There  is 
generally  a  stock  costume,  furnished  by  the  manager, 
which  each  woman  dons  before  she  goes  on  the  stage. 
She  must  go  on  in  costume  and,  as  few  of  these  women 
have  any  other  wardrobe  but  that  which  they  wear  on 
the  street,  they  must  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
sleeveless  waist  and  the  short  skirt  furnished  by  the 
house.  Whether  tall  or  short,  stout  or  lean,  all  wear  the 
same  costume.  The  singer's  popularity  depends  upon 
the  character  of  her  songs,  and  the  more  vulgar  they 
are  the  more  she  is  applauded.  \Miat  i^,  however,  of 
more  importance  to  her  than  applause  is  to  find  admirers 
who  will  invite  her  to  drink,  as  she  gets  commissions  on 
the  drinks  they  order. 


58 


PO\-  l-K  'l'  y  \'  I  LLE 


If  one  can  be  induced  to  order  cliam])agne  at  three 
dollars  a  bottle,  her  commission  is  a  dollar.  The  stiifif 
furnished  is  a  special  brand  of  champagne  cider  costing 
thirty  cents  a  bottle.  On  wines  and  liquors  she  receives 
twenty  per  cent ;  on  beer  nothing.  Her  own  drink  is 
usually  sherry  at  twenty-five  cents  a  glass.  There  is 
sometimes  an  understanding  between  the  women  and  the 
manager  whereby  they  are  not  charged  for  drinks  they 
order.  If  a  party  who  appear  to  be  liberal  spenders 
enter,  one  of  the  women  will  sit  at  the  table  and  invite 
them  to  drink  with  her.  They  accept  the  invitation  and 
ofifer  to  treat  in  return.  She  accepts,  orders  champagne 
and  they  dare  not  refuse. 

The  lovers  of  the  women  who  frequent  the  concert 
halls  are  not  tolerated  there,  as  they  spend  nothing,  and 
occupy  seats  with  the  women  which  might  be  occupied 
by  more  profitable  patrons.  Sightseers  are  always  wel- 
come, as  they  usually  spend  something  and  do  not  remain 
long. 

When  such  disreputable  concert  halls  are  permitted 
to  exist  they  are  virtually  under  police  protection,  and 
while  the  visitor  is  safe  as  long  as  he  remains  sober  and 
pays  in  small  change,  should  he  be  robbed  he  has  no 
redress,  for  complaint  to  the  police  will  be  unavailing. 
Nor  is  it  safe  to  quarrel  with  a  woman  or  a  waiter,  for 
both  are  protected  by  the  bouncer,  and  the  policeman  on 
post  is  the  latter's  friend. 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE  59 

The  presence  or  absence  of  these  mushroom  concert 
halls  on  the  Bowery  is  an  unfailing  gauge  of  the  political 
status  of  the  city.  Under  a  reform  administration  and 
with  an  energetic  police  commissioner  who  is  independent 
of  politics,  such  resorts  disappear.  This  was  the  condition 
of  the  Bowery  in  1887,  in  1895  when  President  Roosevelt 
was  police  commissioner,  in  1902  when  General  Greene 
was  at  the  head  of  the  police  department,  and  even  at 
present  with  a  Tammany  administration  and  an  inde- 
pendent, liberal  minded,  energetic  police  commissioner 
the  Bowery  is  free  from  these  openly  vicious  resorts. 

While  these  public  haunts  of  vice  have  disappeared 
or  are  under  cover,  there  are  a  number  of  places  where 
vice  flourishes,  but  only  the  initiated  may  enter. 

There  are  gambling-houses,  poolrooms,  opium  joints, 
brothels  and  private  clubs  where  interdicted  vices  are 
practiced  so  quietly  that  only  regular  patrons  know  of 
their  existence. 

There  is  also  a  form  of  disreputable  joint  which  keeps 
within  the  letter  of  the  law,  though  violating  its.  spirit; 
but  being  run  mainly  by  Germans  and  Hungarians, 
for  these  nationalities  are  little  known.  These  are  the 
"cider  rooms"  and  "coffee  rooms,"  found  east  of  the 
Bowery.  Some  of  the  coffee  rooms  are  simply  gambling 
houses  where  *'Stuss."  a  Hungarian  gambling  game,  and 
poker  are  played.   Coffee  is  furnished  instead  of  whiskev. 

In  most  of  the  coffee  rooms  having  waitresses,  and 
in  the  cider  rooms,  almost  without  exception,  the  sale 


60 


POVERTYVILLE 


of  coffee  or  cider  is  a  blind.  The  waitresses  are  for 
hire,  the  proprietor  having-  a  flat  behind  the  store  or 
nearby,  to  which  patrons  are  conducted  after  the  pre- 
liminaries have  been  arranged  over  the  cup  of  coffee  or 
glass  of  cider. 

These  places  are  run  without  excise  license,  and  when 
liquor  is  called  for  the  proprietor  will  offer  to  go  to  the 
corner  liquor  store  and  buy  some  for  the  patron.  In 
this  way  he  circumvents  the  law,  although  the  liquor 
really  comes  from  bottles  in  his  ice  box. 

These  places  are  rarely  interfered  with  by  the  police. 

We  hear  occasionally  of  ''knock-out"  drops  in  the 
Bowery  saloons.  Knock-out  drops  is  a  solution  of  chloral 
hydrate,  the  pungent  taste  of  which  is  immediately  no- 
ticed by  a  person  in  his  sober  senses.  In  almost  every 
case  where  it  was  used  the  victim  came  into  the  saloon 
partly  intoxicated,  drank  with  a  stranger  at  the  bar,  and 
then  accompanied  the  stranger  to  a  private  room  or  office 
in  the  saloon.  The  victim  receives  the  drug  in  a  drink 
furnished  by  the  bartender.  In  his  befuddled  condition 
he  does  not  notice  the  taste,  and  in  a  few  minutes  be- 
comes drowsy  and  falls  into  a  deep  sleep.  In  this  condi- 
tion he  is  robbed,  and  as  soon  as  he  shows  signs  of  re- 
turning consciousness,  he  is  led  to  the  door  and  pushed 
out.  He  will,  as  a  rule,  walk  a  short  distance,  then  lie 
down,  still  drowsy,  and  sleep.  He  is  picked  up  by  the 
police,  and  the  next  morning  the  story  is  in  the  press.  A 
bartender  will  never  give  the  drug  unless  the  victim  is 


P  OV  ERT  Y  V  I LLE 


61 


in  the  hands  of  the  accomplice  and  away  from  the  bar. 
Stertorous  breathing  shows  the  bartender  that  he  has 
given  the  man  an  overdose,  and  no  time  is  lost  in  get- 
ting the  victim  out  through  the  hall  or  side  entrance  and 
left  on  the  street. 

Knock-out  drops  are  supplied  in  half  dram  vials,  each 
vial  containing  20  grains  of  chloral,  a  vial  full  being  used 
at  a  time. 

Bartenders  in  saloons  frequented  by  the  criminal 
classes  generally  know  what  the  drug  is  and  have  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  it.  It  is,  however,  rarely  used  in 
the  Bowery  saloons,  as  the  risk  is  too  great  and  the 
prospects  of  making  a  haul  too  small.  ATost  of  the  re- 
ported cases  of  knock-out  drops  on  the  Bowery  are  sim- 
ply cases  of  robbery  while  drunk. 

Gambling  is  the  most  persistent  pastime  indulged  in 
in  Povertyville,  and  to  thousands  in  the  district  it  is  the 
only  source  of  livelihood.  Poker,  policy,  and  crap  shoot- 
ing are  the  principal  forms  of  gambling  practiced.  There 
is  one  place  on  the  Bowery  known  to  every  Bowery  sport, 
having  the  more  elaborate  paraphernalia  required  in  faro, 
rouge  et  noir  and  roulette,  although  rumor  has  it  that 
these  games  are  also  played  in  some  of  the  private  clubs 
in  the  district. 

There  is  a  gambling  house  w^hich  has  been  running 
for  years  without  police  interruption.  The  window  shut- 
ters on  a  level  with  the  elevated  railroad  structure  are 
never  opened,  and  no  gleam  from  the  gas  lights  burning 


62 


P  01'  ERT  y  V  I  LLE 


(lay  and  night  within  ever  reaches  the  outside.  The  place 
is  over  a  liquor  store  frequented  by  small  sports,  and  is 
reached  only  throui^h  a  hall  leading  from  the  back  room. 
There  is  an  emergency  exit  leading  to  a  store  on  a  side 
street.  In  the  large  room  over  the  store  is  a  faro  layout 
and  a  few  poker  tables  for  private  parties. 

Although  the  place  is  probably  known  by  the  police, 
complaints  never  reach  them,  as  strangers  are  not  admit- 
ted unless  vouched  for  by  a  frequenter,  and  the  games  are 
honestly  conducted.  This  is,  however,  not  due  to  moral 
scruples,  but  because  the  players  are  expert  gamblers  and 
know  all  the  tricks  of  the  game.  The  place  is  frequented 
by  small  sports,  politicians  and  merchants  with  sporting 
or  gambling  proclivities.  Tn  its  favor  it  may  be  said  that 
the  proprietor  will  not  allow  confidence  men  to  use  the 
place  in  carrying  out  their  schemes. 

Another  game  was  opened  over  a  saloon  run  by  an 
ex-convict.  Its  frequenters  were  mainly  of  the  criminal 
classes,  and  no  one  could  enter  who  was  not  personally 
known  to  the  proprietor.  It  is  said  that  the  police  per- 
mitted this  place  to  run,  as  it  enabled  them  to  locate  sus- 
pects through  stool-pigeons  who  played  there.  When 
complaints  came  that  confidence  men  were  making  their 
headquarters  there  the  police  ordered  the  place  closed. 
(The  stool-pigeons  are  ex-convicts  who  continue  their 
associations  with  the  criminal  classes  and  sell  whatever 


P  OV  ERT  y  V I LLE 


63 


information  they  can  pick  up  to  the  pohce.  Occasionally 
they  are  engaged  by  the  police  to  obtain  information  in 
special  cases.) 

The  policy  shops  are  now  conducted  so  quietly  that  it 
is  difficult  to  locate  them.  Since  the  crusade  began  by 
Captain  Goddard  and  the  Anti-Policy  Society  these  places, 
formerly  run  as  openly  as  dives  and  gambling  houses, 
have  disappeared,  and  at  present  there  is  not  a  regular 
policy  shop  on  the  Bowery.  Those  who  still  play  the 
game  go  to  a  cigar  store  near  the  Bowery,  where  they 
meet  a  runner  or  agent  for  a  policy  shop.  He  receives 
their  money  and  gives  them  a  slip  for  the  cap,  saddle, 
gig  or  horse,  as  the  various  combinations  of  numbers 
played  are  called.  After  the  afternoon  drawing,  which 
was  supposed  to  take  place  in  Kentucky,  but  which  has 
been  shown  to  take  place  in  this  city,  the  runner  again 
appears  in  the  store  to  pay  the  winners.  Poolrooms, 
where  bets  are  made  on  horse  races,  open  and  shut  as 
the  police  will.  The  Bowery  is  practically  clear  of  them 
at  the  present  moment,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  is 
only  a  temporary  condition.  With  a  lenient  police  cap- 
tain in  any  one  of  the  five  precincts  bordering  on  the 
Bowery,  poolrooms  spring  up  in  that  precinct.  A  large 
room  is  hired,  one  side  is  partitioned  off,  and  in  the 
larger  space  where  the  bettors  congregate,  a  number  of 
blackboards  are  set  up.  These  blackboards  contain  the 
names  of  the  horses  in  each  race  and  the  betting  odds 
given  at  the  race  track.    Behind  the  partition  is  a  tele- 


64 


P  OV  ERT  YV I LLE 


graph  or  telephone  receiver,  from  which  one  of  the  em- 
ployes reads  aloud  the  progress  of  each  race  as  it  is  run, 
and  announces  the  winner.  The  bettors  place  their  money 
through  a  wicket  in  the  partition  and  receive  a  pool 
ticket  giving  the  name  of  the  horse  and  the  amount  bet. 
The  winning  tickets  are  redeemed  through  this  or  through 
an  adjoining  wicket.  Pool  selling,  as  this  form  of  gam- 
bling is  called,,  is  a  violation  of  the  law,  but  to  convict 
the  bookmaker  or  pool  seller  it  is  necessary  that  he  be 
identified  as  the  person  receiving  the  money.  To  prevent 
such  identification  a  shade  or  cover  is  placed  over  the 
wicket  in  such  a  way  that  only  the  hand  of  the  person 
receiving  the  money  and  handing  out  the  pool  ticket  can 
be  seen. 

Most  of  the  betting  on  the  races  now  done  on  the  Bow- 
ery is  through  handbooks — that  is,  through  bookmakers 
who  have  no  poolrooms  but  accept  bets  at  the  poolroom 
odds,  and  pay  winnings  as  the  returns  come  over  the 
ticker  of  the  saloon  where  they  make  their  headquarters. 
Bets  are  also  made  through  *'turf  commissioners"  or 
agents,  who  place  bets  at  the  track  or  in  poolrooms 
further  up  town.  Some  of  these  agents  are  honest,  and 
actually  go  to  the  track  or  poolrooms  to  place  the  bets 
entrusted  to  them,  but  most  are  bookmakers  risking  their 
own  money,  with  the  additional  advantage  over  regular 
bookmakers  of  charging  for  each  bet  they  make  and  re- 
ceiving, besides,  a  commission  of  the  winnings  of  their 
patrons.    \\'hen  the  small  bookmaker  finds  that  he  would 


P  OJ'  ERT  y  ri  LLE 


6< 


lose  heavily  in  the  settlement  of  bets  he  'Svelches,"  or 
disappears,  with  the  stakes.  When  the  *'tnrf  conimis- 
sioner,"  who  risks  his  own  money  against  the  patron's 
bets,  instead  of  placing  the  bets  at  the  track,  finds  he 
would  lose  heavily  he  returns  the  patron's  wagers,  with 
the  plausible  excuse  that  the  poolroom  was  raided  or  that 
he  was  sick.  He  is  then  considered  an  honest  turf  com- 
missioner. 

On  June  16th,  1903,  the  only  poolroom  then  running 
on  the  Bowery  was  raided  by  the  police.  It  was  supposed 
to  be  run  by  a  member  of  a  well-known  family  of  poli- 
ticians, and  had  been  doing  business  less  than  a  week. 
From  a  window  in  the  room  a  heavy  rope  was  stretched 
to  the  extension  of  a  nearby  theater,  and  a  ladder  led 
from  the  extension  to  a  yard  in  Chrystie  Street.  The 
manager  and  his  employees  escaped  this  way. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  race-track  betting  law  by 
the  New  York  State  Legislature  in  1908.  horse  racing 
has  declined  in  this  State,  and  interest  in  horse-race  bet- 
ting has  virtually  ceased  in  the  Bowery  district.  During 
the  summer  months  there  is  some  illicit  betting  on  races 
held  near  the  city,  but  there  was  no  poolroom  on  the 
Bowery  in  the  summer  of  1908  or  since  then. 

The  club  rooms  are  the  only  resorts  where  the  vicious 
are  free  from  police  molestation. 

While  many  of  the  clubs  in  Poverty ville  are  places 
of  recreation  for  the  working  men,  and  as  such  are  com- 
mendable, some  were  organized  to  evade  a  badly  tinkered 


66 


POVERTY  VI LLE 


excise  law,  while  others  were  started  by  the  vicious  classes 
to  give  them  a  place  where,  under  cover  of  the  law,  they 
could  drink,  gamble,  and  plan  nefarious  projects. 

One  of  the  most  notorious  of  the  last  class  is  a  club 
in  Doyer  Street,  near  the  Bowery.  The  lower  part  of 
the  ramshackle  club  house  is  occupied  by  a  liquor  store 
run  by  one  of  the  club  members.  The  upper  part  is 
used  for  club  purposes,  a  large  room  being  used  as  a 
club  room,  sitting  room,  and  dance  hall,  while  smaller 
rooms  are  used  by- card  parties.  The  membership  con- 
sists mainly  of  the  vile,  vicious  and  criminal  classes,  but 
there  are  also  enrolled  others  who  have  business  relations 
with  the  law  breakers.  The  business  afifairs  of  the  club 
are  conducted  in  an  orderly  manner,  but  at  its  social  af- 
fairs orgies  are  carried  on  as  far  as  the  police  will  per- 
mit. At  the  annual  balls  given  by  the  club  there  are 
collected  the  largest  number  of  criminals  outside  of 
prison.  The  women  present  are  almost  without  exception 
the  mistresses  of  the  men,  criminals  like  their  partners, 
or  women  of  the  street. 

This  is  an  incorporated  club.  There  are  several  such 
incorporated  clubs  in  the  district,  the  sole  object  of  which 
seems  to  be  to  afford  a  place  to  gamble  under  cover  of 
the  law  or  a  place  of  refuge  when  evading  its  penalty. 
There  are  also  many  clubs  not  incorporated,  having  rooms 
in  rear  houses,  in  cellars,  stables,  -and  other  out  of  the 
way  places.  Such  resorts  are  the  "hang-outs"  or  head- 
quarters of  the  gangs  of  toughs  who  infest  the  district. 


POVERTY  VI LLE 


67 


Sometimes  they  call  themselves  a  club  and  elect  a  presi- 
dent, invariably  the  one  who  has  committed  the  most 
hazardous  crime.  More  often  they  prefer  to  call  them- 
selves ''the  gang,"  prefixing  what  they  consider  a  eupho- 
nious title,  and  they  follow  a  self-appointed  leader,  whose 
only  claim  to  leadership  rests  upon  his  willingness  to  fight 
anyone  who  disputes  his  title.  In  the  tenements  and 
shanties  which  covered  the  area  now  embraced  by  Mul- 
berry Bend  Park,  a  little  west  of  the  Bowery,  there  were 
scores  of  such  hang  outs,  until  the  city  authorities  wiped 
out  this,  the  most  vicious  block  in  the  city,  and  perhaps  in 
the  world.  In  the  middle  of  the  block,  back  of  the  houses 
fronting  on  Mulberry  and  Baxter  Streets,  were  a  number 
of  old  buildings  occupied  by  rag  pickers,  beggars  and 
criminals.  These  houses  were  reached  from  the  houses 
in  front,  by  alleys  which  led  to  the  streets,  and  by  cross- 
alleys  and  back  yards.  If  an  escaping  criminal  succeeded 
in  reaching  one  of  these  alleys  he  was  safe,  for  it  was  im- 
possible to  determine  in  which  direction  he  went  after 
he  had  reached  the  first  cross-alley,  and  every  house  was 
a  refuge.  From  the  Bandits'  Roost,  a  house  near  the 
center  of  the  block,  the  name  of  which  well  indicated  its 
character,  Mulberry  Street  in  front,  two  alleys  and  two 
adjoining  buildings  could  be  reached,  while  a  cellar  com- 
municated with  the  cellar  of  a  house  back  of  a  house  on 
Baxter  Street.  The  Bandits'  Roost  and  several  other 
buildings  on  the  ^lock  were  the  dens  of  criminals.  On 
the  ground  floor  of  one  of  these  rear  buildings  a  gang 


68 


P  OV  ERTYl'  I  LLE 


had  fitted  up  two  rooms  as  club  rooms  and  headquarters, 
with  spoils  gathered  in  their  raids.  Lace  curtains  cov- 
ered windows  which  were  never  cleaned.  A  carpet  lay 
on  the  floor  of  the  two  rooms,  the  unused  portion  of  the 
roll  lying  in  the  smaller  room,  forming  a  head-rest.  The 
carpet  was  littered  with  cigar  stumps  and  ashes,  torn 
playing  cards,  broken  clay  pipes,  etc.  A  kitchen  table 
covered  with  green  cloth,  probably  the  cover  of  a  billiard 
table,  and  a  number  of  beer  kegs  used  as  chairs,  com- 
prised the  furniture.  On  the  mantlepiece  were  a  lot  of 
bric-a-brac,  cards,  slates,  pieces  of  chalk  and  beer  glasses. 
The  back  room  was  filled  with  clothing,  bundles  and  bags, 
the  proceeds  of  thefts,  while  some  of  the  gang  lay  on 
the  floor  smoking  or  dozing.  One  of  these  was  badly 
battered  in  a  fight  for  leadership.  This  place  was  a  typ- 
ical thieves'  den.  Another  such  den  existed  in  Elizabeth 
Street,  one  block  west  of  the  Bowery. 

A  number  of  gangs  have  gained  considerable  notori- 
etv  during  the  past  few  years  on  account  of  their  fre- 
quent encounters  with  the  police  and  the  feuds  among 
themselves.  They  are  really  not  as  formidable  .as  press 
accounts  would  indicate.  The  personnel  of  the  gang 
consists  of  a  leader  who  gives  his  name  to  the  gang,  a 
few  vicious  friends  and  some  half-grown  boys,  viciously 
inclined,  who  try  to  emulate  the  others  in  vice.  They 
have  no  organization,  no  headquarters,  nothing  more 
than  a  favorite  *'hang-out"  where  the  leader  meets  his 
friends  and  discusses  crimes  with  them.    The  leader  has 


POVERTYVILLE 


69 


generally  some  political  influence  whereby  he  attracts 
criminals  and  would-be  criminals  who  will  do  his  bidding 
on  election  day,  and  who  look  to  him  for  aid  when  they 
come  in  conflict  with  the  police.  When  the  leader  is  sent 
to  prison  the  gang  disintegrates. 

The  chief  occupations  of  the  members  of  these  gangs 
are  petty  thievery  and  gambling.  Sometimes  they  fight 
among  themselves  and  occasionally  a  member  is  killed 
in  a  feud  or  by  members  of  his  own  gang,  if  he  is  sus- 
pected of  being  a  stool  pigeon. 


CHAPTER  V 


HAUNTS  AND  HOMKS. 


\'EN  wretches  must  live,  they  must  have  shelter  and 
food,  and  Povertyville  suppHes  them  with  both. 


Those  with  means,  honestly  or  ill-gotten,  are  never 
at  a  loss ;  not  so,  however,  the  poor  devil  who  is  not  a 
criminal,  who  has  no  home,  friends  or  money.  His 
waking  hours  can  be  spent  in  the  streets,  saloons,  dives, 
missions  and  reading  rooms.  But  he  needs  some  place 
where  he  can  rest,  forget  and  dream,  sheltered  from 
storm  and  cold.  For  the  respectable  woman,  so  situated, 
private  philanthropy  has  amply  provided.  The  penniless 
man,  however,  who  will  not  steal,  must  beg  enough  to 
pay  for  a  night's  lodging  or  must  beg  for  a  lodging  at 
one  of  the  Salvation  Army  hotels  or  go  to  the  ^Municipal 
lodging  house.  If  he  has  good  recommendations  he  can 
remain  a  few  days  at  the  Bowery  branch  of  the  Young 
]\Ien's  Christian  Association,  and  if  he  shows  a  willing- 
ness to  work  the  Charity  Organization  Society  will  pro- 
vide for  him.  The  Industrial  Christian  Alliance  in 
Bleecker  Street  maintains  a  temporary  home  for  desti- 
tute men  who  are  willing  to  work  at  brush  making,  car- 
pentering, shoemaking  or  tailoring  until  other  work  is 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE 


71 


provided.  If  the  destitute  fellow  will  not  avail  himself 
of  one  of  these  places,  he  can  rest  on  the  Park  benches, 
on  trucks  or  in  cellars  in  summer,  and  in  the  winter  in 
the  comfort  houses  for  men  in  the  parks. 

The  saloon  ofifers  him  shelter  if  he  will  do  the  menial 
work  about  the  place,  sweeping-  floors,  cleaning  windows, 
washing  cuspidors,  etc. 

In  some  saloons  the  patrons  who  spend  their  money 
over  the  bar  are  permitted  to  remain  at  night  in  the 
back  room,  while  one  saloon  gives  each  patron  a  coupon 
with  each  drink,  six  coupons  entitling  him  to  a  free  bed. 
In  one  saloon  the  back  room  is  crowded  nightly.  Its 
patrons,  mainly  longshoremen  and  dock  workers,  earn 
fair  wages,  which  are  spent  here  for  beer  and  liquor.  The 
generous  proprietor,  who  has  grown  wealthy  from  this 
trade,  furnishes  them  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  bread, 
cheese  and  corned  beef,  and  when  their  money  is  gone 
he  permits  them  to  sleep  on  the  chairs  and  benches  in 
the  back  room. 

For  those  who  can  pay  there  is  every  grade  of  hotel 
and  lodging  house,  from  the  fairly  good  Occidental  Hotel, 
where  rooms  cost  a  dollar  or  more  a  night,  to  the  Park 
Row  lodging  houses,  in  some  of  which  a  tramp  may  lie 
on  the  bare  floor  near  the  stove  for  five  cents  a  night. 
The  term  hotel  implies  a  more  pretentious  establishment 
than  the  lodging  house,  and  should  include  a  dining  room, 
but  many  ordinary  lodging  houses  on  the  Bowery  bear 
the  names  of  hotels.    The  law  does  not  clearlv  define 


72 


P  OV  ERTYV I LLE 


the  difference  between  hotel  and  lodging  house,  and  there 
is  a  conflict  between  the  requirements  of  a  hotel  under 
the  Raines  law  and  under  the  sanitary  and  building  codes. 
The  Raines  law  demands  ten  bedrooms,  a  kitchen  and 
dining  room.  The  building  code  demands  fifteen  rooms. 
The  sanitary  code  demands  400  cubic  feet  of  space  for 
each  guest  and  a  wir.dow  in  each  sleeping  apartment, 
opening  upon  an  air  shaft,  court,  street  or  open  space. 
Under  this  rule  a  hotel  cannot  have  more  bedrooms  than 
it  has  windows,  while  a  lodging  house  may  have  a  dor- 
mitory with  as  many  guests  as  the  cubic  space  will  allow 
under  the  400  cubic  foot  rule.  The  ''private  rooms"  in 
the  cheap  lodging  houses  are  not  legally  bedrooms,  but 
portions  of  the  main  room  with  the  partitions  between 
the  beds.  The  partitions  between  the  "rooms"  do  not  ex- 
tend to  the  ceiling,  as  that  would  make  them  legally  bed- 
rooms, violating  the  sanitary  code.  Wire  network  ex- 
tends over  the  top  of  the  partitions,  instead  of  a  ceiling,  to 
prevent  guests  from  making  surreptitious  visits  to  their 
neighbors'  rooms  when  the  latter  are  out. 

There  is,  besides  these,  that  vicious  anomaly,  the 
Raines  Law  Hotel,  which  will  be  described  later. 

The  best  and  most  unique  of  the  lodging  houses  in 
this  section  are  the  two  ^lills  Hotels,  number  one  in 
Bleecker  Street,  with  1550  rooms,  number  two  in  Riving- 
ton  Street,  with  600  rooms.  Both  are  under  the  same 
management  and  conducted  alike.  (A  third  Mills  Hotel 
was  recently  opened.) 


POVERTY  VI LLE 


73 


The  rooms,  costing  20  cents  a  night,  are  small  and 
plain  but  clean  and  neat.  These  hotels  contain  large 
reading  rooms,  smoking  lobbies,  barber  shops  and  laun- 
dries, and  the  guests  have  the  usual  hotel  conveniences, 
including  elevator,  steam  heat  and  electric  light.  They 
are  legally  hotels,  not  lodging  houses. 

Restaurants  connected  with  these  hotels  supply  good, 
wholesome  food  at  very  low  prices,  and  are  patronized 
by  hundreds  who  are  not  hotel  guests. 

These  two  hotels  are  patronized  by  a  class  distinct 
from  the  Bowery  lodging  house  patrons.  They  are  mostly 
men  working  for  small  salaries,  self-respecting  men  who 
desire  clean  and  refined  surroundings  so  far  as  limited 
means  can  secure  refinement.  They  do  not  come  under 
the  heading  of  Povertyville's  wretches.  For  a  short  time 
in  1904  and  1905  a  number  of  broken-down  sports  and 
gamblers  made  their  home  here,  but  the  manager  soon 
turned  them  out.  In  the  better  class  of  Bowery  lodging 
houses,  the  rates  are  from  25  to  50  cents  a  night.  The 
highest  priced  rooms  face  the  street,  have  carpets  and 
curtains,  and  the  ordinary  hotel  room  furnishings,  bed, 
wash-stand,  mirror,  chair  and  bureau.  The  cheapest  are 
on  an  upper  fioor,  face  the  yard  or  court,  are  smaller  than 
the  other,  have  muslin  window  shades,  and  oilcloth  on 
the  floor,  otherwise  they  are  furnished  like  the  other 
rooms.  These  lodging  houses — some  are  called  hotels — 
have  sitting  rooms,  and  most  have  free  baths.  In  the 
lodging  houses  charging  from  15  to  35  cents  a  night  the 


74 


P O V  ER T y V I LLE 


best  rooms  are  furnished  like  tlie  l^est  rooms  in  the  better 
class  lodging-  houses.  There  is,  however,  a  general  air  of 
povery  about  them  more  noticeable  than  in  the  cheapest 
rooms  in  the  better  lodging  houses. 

The  cheapest  rooms,  or  stalls,  as  the  lodgers  call 
them,  are  mere  closets  about  8  feet  long  and  5  feet 
wide,  partitioned  off  the  sides  of  a  long  hall  or  room, 
with  a  passage  way  between  the  two  rows  of  closets  or 
"private  rooms."  Each  room  has  a  bed  or  cot,  a  stool, 
and  sometimes  a  washstand. 

\Miere  there  is  a  washstand  there  is  a  tin  basin  and  a 
pitcher.  If  there  is  no  washstand  in  the  room,  there  is 
a  common  lavatory  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  adjoining 
it  is  a  closet  where  the  lodgers  may  take  a  shower  bath. 

There  is  usually  a  sitting  room,  poorly  lighted,  with 
benches  instead  of  chairs,  where  lodgers  often  sit  through 
hot  summer  nights. 

Some  of  these  lodging  houses  have  drying  rooms 
where  lodgers  may  wash  and  dry  their  clothing,  and  most 
have  a  washstand  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  where,  to  the 
faucets,  are  attached  by  chains  a  comb,  hair  brush,  and 
whisk  broom. 

In  the  poorest  lodging  houses  where  the  rates  are 
from  10  to  25  cents,  rooms  are  closets  like  the  closets  of 
other  lodging  houses.  These  hold  either  cots  or  old- 
fashioned  beds.  Where  cots  are  used  the  bedding  con- 
sists of  a  sheet  thrown  over  the  bed,  a  straw  pillow  and 
a  blanket.    In  the  old-style  beds  there  is  in  addition  a 


P  O  I'  E  RT  y  J'  I  LLE 


straw  mattress,  so  thin,  however,  that  an  uneasy  sleeper 
generally  arises  with  the  marks  of  the  bed  slats  on  his 
body. 

For  ten  or  fifteen  cents  the  lodger  receives  a  cot  in 

a  dormitory  holding  from  twenty  to  a  hundred  beds.  In 
a  lodging  house  near  Park  Row  bunks  were  formerly  used 
instead  of  beds ;  the  boards  forming  the  bunk  were  held 
up  by  short  posts  or  boxes,  one  row  of  bunks  being  above 
the  other. 

Each  bunk  accommodated  two  sleepers.  The  bed 
consisted  of  a  lot  of  straw,  covered  by  a  piece  of  canvas, 
a  canvas  bag  filled  with  straw  formed  a  pillow,  and  a 
horse  blanket  covered  all.  No  objection  was  made  to 
dirt  or  vermin.  The  lodgers  rarely  removed  their  cloth- 
ing, but  shoes  were  removed  out  of  consideration  for  the 
shins  of  their  bed  fellows.  Late-comers  who  could  not 
obtain  a  bunk  lay  on  the  floor,  paying  five  cents  for  the 
privilege. 

In  some  lodging  houses  double-decker  bunks,  having 
one  row  of  beds  above  the  other,  are  still  used. 

In  the  ten-cent  lodging  house  there  is  a  common  lava- 
tory, and  a  spray  pan  is  attached  to  the  faucet  by  a  long 
rubber  tube  so  that  those  who  wish  may  take  a  shower 
bath.  This  is  seldom  used.  The  common  towel  is 
changed  when  the  last  white  spot  disappears,  and  the 
comb  and  brush  which  are  chained  to  the  faucet  do  serv- 
ice while  a  few  teeth  and  hair  remain. 


76 


P  0  1'  IIRT  y  V  I  LLE 


There  is  a  sitting  room  with  a  few  benches  and  a 
desk  near  the  door,  where  the  clerk  receives  the  dimes 
and  pennies  from  the  guests  as  they  shnk  in.  He  enters 
their  names  on  the  register,  and  assigns  each  to  his  bed. 
In  a  few  moments  the  lodger  has  kicked  off  his  shoes, 
and  a  moment  later  his  snores  join  the  chorus.  Late- 
comers sit  around  the  stove  or  lie  on  the  floor.  Such 
are  the  poorest  of  the  lodging  houses. 

The  lodging  houses  from  Grand  Street  northward  are 
better  than  those  southward.  The  poorest  are  on  Park 
Row  and  in  the  side  streets.  The  largest  of  the  poor 
lodging  houses  is  a  six-story  building  in  Mulberry  Street, 
near  Park  Row.  It  stands  in  the  rear  of  some  old  tene- 
ment houses,  and  is  reached  through  a  narrow  alley  be- 
tween two  houses.  Some  of  these  poor  lodging  houses 
furnish  coffee  and  rolls,  others  give  tickets  good  for  to- 
bacco or  beer. 

The  new  hotel  at  Chatham  Square  conducted  by  the 
Salvation  Army  is  the  largest  lodging  house  in  the  city 
with  the  exception  of  the  Mills  Hotel  number  one. 

It  has  dormitories  and  small  rooms,  with  rates  from 
fifteen  to  fifty  cents  a  night.  It  is  equipped  with  ele- 
vators, steam  heat,  electric  lights,  spring  beds,  free  baths, 
etc.,  and  in  its  conveniences  is  far  in  advance  of  other 
lodging  houses  charging  the  same  rates. 

But  while  the  inmates  pay  as  much  as  they  would  in 
other  lodging  houses  there  is  a  lack  of  independence, 
or  rather,  there  is  a  sense  of  dependence  upon  a  philan- 


P O F ERT  y V  I LLE 


77 


thropy,  a  sense  or  sentiment  entirely  absent  in  the  guests 
of  the  Mills  hotels.  This  may  account  for  the  difference 
in  the  class  of  guests  at  the  two  hotels. 

The  old  lodging  houses  of  the  Salvation  Army  do 
not  differ  except  in  neatness  from  the  ordinary  cheap 
Bowery  lodging  houses. 

The  dormitory  of  the  Bowery  branch  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  is  the  most  attractive  of  the  Bowery  lodging 
houses.  The  lodgers  are  mostly  young  men  in  search  of 
work.  A  charge  of  fifteen  cents  is  made,  but  a  man 
without  means,  having  good  references  and  showing  a 
willingness  to  work,  can  obtain  lodging  and  meals  free 
until  work  is  secured.  As  a  philanthropic  institution  this 
has  done  more  good  than  any  other  institution  of  a  simi- 
lar character  in  New  York. 

The  guests  are  aided  to  obtain  positions,  religious  in- 
stincts are  fostered,  and  self-respect  is  upheld.  They  are 
not  thrown  in  contact  with  the  lazy,  shiftless,  often  de- 
praved wretches  found  in  other  lodging  houses,  nor  are 
they  obliged  to  give  hypocritical  statements  about  their 
willingness  to  be  converted  and  reform  in  order  to  obtain 
a  free  bed. 

The  homeless  and  penniless  fellow  who  cannot  obtain 
a  free  bed  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  or  at  one  of  the  Salvation 
Army  hotels,  can  go  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society 
in  East  Twenty-Second  Street,  where  he  can  obtain  lodg- 
ing and  meals  if  he  is  willing  to  do  a  few  hours'  work 
in  the  wood  yard. 


78 


P OiERT YV I LLE 


As  a  last  resort,  he  can  go  to  the  Ahinicipal  lodging 
house  in  First  Avenue,  near  23rd  Street.  Here  are  ?)\7 
beds,  270  for  men,  and  47  for  women,  about  one-half 
being  occupied  nightly,  except  in  winter,  wdien  the  place 
is  overcrowded.  A  new  Municipal  lodging  house  holding 
1,000  beds  was  recently  opened  in  25th  Street. 

The  wretches  arrive  about  6  P.  M.,  and  their  names 
and  addresses  are  entered  on  the  register.  Each  one  is 
asked  how  he  supports  himself,  how  much  money  he  has 
about  him,  and  what  references  he  has.  Vagrants  and 
those  who  apply  more  than  three  nights  in  succession  are 
sent  to  the  police  station,  the  others  are  examined  bv  a 
physician  wdio  excludes  those  who  are  suffering  from 
contagious  diseases.  These  are  sent  to  Bellevue  Hospi- 
tal ;  the  others  assemble  in  a  large  room,  where  each 
receives  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  piece  of  bread.  After  de- 
positing with  the  Superintendent  whatever  of  value  he 
may  have  about  him,  the  applicant  receives  a  numbered 
bag,  and  is  conducted  to  the  bath  room.  Here  he  puts 
his  clothing  in  the  bag,  hands  it  to  an  attendant  and  re- 
ceives a  check  therefor,  and  a  night  shirt.  After  a 
shower  bath  he  is  assigned  to  a  bed  in  one  of  the  dor- 
mitories. All  are  awakened  at  six  in  the  morning,  and 
the  bags  containing  their  clothing  are  returned.  The 
clothing  has  been  subjected  to  a  disinfecting  process  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  comes  back  damp  and  crumpled.  This  ' 
is  the  general  complaint  of  all  who  spend  a  night  in  the 
Municipal  lodging  house. 


POJ'ERTVJ^ILLE 


79 


After  dressing,  coffee  and  bread  are  again  served,  the 
inmates  are  set  to  work  cleaning  up  the  place  and  at  half- 
past  six  the  men  are  discharged.  The  women  leave  half 
an  hour  later.  All  are  easily  recognized  in  the  neigh- 
borhood by  the  damp,  crumpled  appearance  of  their 
clothing. 

In  cold  and  stormy  weather  the  hours  are  not  strictly 
adhered  to  and  when  the  number  of  applicants  exceeds 
the  sleeping  accommodations  a  man's  dormitory  is  turned 
over  to  the  women,  while  the  men  are  sent  to  the  pier 
of  the  Department  of  Charities,  where  cots  are  put  up 
for  them,  ^^'hen  the  number  exceeds  the  accommoda- 
tions at  the  lodging  house  and  pier  late  comers  go  on 
board  the  city  steamboats  which  tie  up  at  the  pier,  or 
are  sent  to  the  police  station,  where  they  find  shelter  but 
little  comfort  in  the  unoccupied  cells. 

Little  need  be  said  of  the  saloons  wdiere  men  are  per- 
mitted to  sleep  on  chairs  or  on  casks.  The  men  are 
drunkards  who  have  spent  their  last  cent  at  the  bar  and, 
partly  overcome  by  liquor,  they  drop  into  the  chairs  or  on 
casks  and  sleep  there  until  they  are  thrown  out  in  the 
morning. 

There  is  still  one  place  where  the  homeless  wretches 
may  find  shelter,  a  place  to  which  only  the  most  abject 
of  wretches  resort.  The  writer  saw  a  number  of  them 
standing  asleep  in  the  toilet  room  for  men  in  Mulberry 
Bend  Park  at  2  A.  ^I.  on  a  February  morning  in  1908. 


80 


P  OJ'  ERT  y  V  I  LLE 


The  temperature  outside  was  16  degrees  above  zero; 
in  the  room  it  was  60  degrees.  The  wretches  here  dread 
the  bath  in  the  municipal  lodging  house,  they  dare  not 
go  to  the  police  station  where  they  would  be  held  as 
vagrants,  which  means  that  most  horrible  combination — 
work  and  wash ;  they  cannot  obtain  admission  to  any 
other  free  lodging  house,  and  they  prefer  to  spend  their 
last  dime  for  a  drink  rather  than  for  a  bed. 

The  Raines  Law  hotels  are  not  intended  for  perma- 
nent guests  or  all-night  patrons.  The  rooms  are  rarely 
occupied  for  more  than  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time,  the 
guests  slinking  in  through  the  side  door  with  their  tem- 
porary ''wives,"  the  "wife"  appearing  with  several  "hus- 
bands" in  succession  the  same  night.  The  room  for  which 
a  dollar  is  charged  contains  a  bed,  a  chair  and  a  wash- 
stand.  The  bedding  is  insufficient,  the  lighting  is  poor 
and  there  is  altogether  a  lack  of  conveniences  as  a  stand- 
ing invitation  to  vacate  the  room  as  soon  as  possible. 

Xo  respectable  person  stops  at  a  hotel  of  this  char- 
acter, but  the  female  wretches  who  bring  their  patrons 
to  them  are  usually  permitted  to  occupy  a  room  free. 
This  description  fits  the  ordinary  Bowery  Raines  Law 
hotel  of  the  brothel  variety.  Some  hotels  established 
under  this  law  are  in  so  far  respectable  that  they  are  con- 
ducted as  good  hotels,  furnishing  the  usual  hotel  con- 
veniences, yet  some  of  these,  notwithstanding  their  ap- 
parent respectability,  are  patronized  almost  exclusively 
by  disreputable  women  and  their  temporary  husbandi. 


POVERTYVILLE 


81 


Unfortunately  there  is  no  sharp  dividing  line  between 
the  clean,  respectable  hotel  and  the  ordinary  Raines  Law 
house.  The  mere  presence  of  disreputable  persons  in  a 
hotel  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  hotel  is  dis- 
reputable, for  such  persons  can  be  found  even  in  ultra- 
fashionable  houses.  When,  however,  couple  after  couple 
enter  a  hotel  without  baggage,  not  even  a  hand  satchel, 
register  as  coming  from  some  distant  place  and  leave  the 
hotel  in  a  few  hours,  especially  when  the  register  shows 
that  none  of  these  couples  remain  longer  than  a  day,  it 
is  safe  to  assume  that  the  hotel  belongs  to  the  Raines 
Law  brothel  variety. 

While  it  may  appease  tlie  vanity  of  the  lawmaker  to 
whose  efiforts  these  public  brothels  owe  their  existence, 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  the  legislature  which  called  them  into 
life  and  to  the  city  of  New  York  which  must  recognize 
them  as  having  a  legal  right  to  exist. 

Not  all  the  so-called  hotels  operating  under  the  vicious 
Raines  Law  are  brothels.  This  law  demands  that  a  hotel 
shall  have  not  less  than  ten  rooms,  each  containing  a  bed, 
for  the  accommodation  of  guests.  It  gives  hotel  keepers 
some  privileges  not  possessed  by  saloon  keepers,  prin- 
cipally the  right  to  furnish  liquors  to  guests  on  Sundays. 
As  the  Sunday  trade  in  many  saloons  far  exceeds  the 
week-day  trade,  the  saloon  keeper  hires  a  floor  or  two 
floors  over  the  saloon,  places  ten  cots  or  folding  beds  in 
as  many  rooms  and  secures  a  hotel  license.  If  he  has 
fitted  up  the  rooms  merely  to  comply  with  the  law  under 


82 


POVERTVVILLE 


which  he  has  secured  the  Hcense,  and  has  no  intention 
of  renting  them,  an  apphcant  for  a  room  is  told  that  all 
the  rooms  are  occupied  or  that  the  rate  for  a  room  is  ten 
dollars  a  night.  The  rooms  are  occupied  by  the  family 
of  the  proprietor  and  his  employes,  each  one  registering 
as  a  guest^.  Thus  the  letter  of  the  law  is  obeyed  and  the 
saloon  keeper  may  sell  liquor  on  Sunday.  (The  law  says 
liquor  may  be  furnished  "with  meals,"  and  a  legal  deci- 
sion makes  a  cracker  a* meal.) 

Some  of  the  lodging  houses  have  a  distinctive  class 
of  patrons.  In  one  of  these  there  are  many  men  of  edu- 
cation and  refinement  who  have  come  down  through 
drink  or  who  seek  to  hide  their  identity  in  Povertyville. 
However  great  their  efforts  to  appear  other  than  they 
really  are  by  mingling  with  the  low  and  depraved,  sooner 
or  later  they  drift  into  this  place,  wdiere  they  find  con- 
genial company.  There  is  little  social  intercourse  among 
the  guests,  each  respecting  the  reticence  of  the  others, 
none  seeking  to  impose  or  obtain  confidence.  Sometimes 
when  several  are  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  they  be- 
come loquacious,  and  will  discuss  literature,  the  arts  and 
sciences.  Perhaps  an  allusion  will  bring  to  one  of  the 
party  some  bitter  memory.  He  leaves  the  others  and  all 
understand  why.  To  each  is  brought  back  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  own  position  and  they  separate,  each  going 
to  his  room  reflectively. 

Another  lodging  house  is  known  for  its  frequent 
brawds.    Most  of  its  patrons  belong  to  that  class  of  in- 


POVERTYVILLE 


83 


digenous  wretches  who  have  no  moral  compunction  about 
cracking  a  stranger's  skull  or  rifling  a  neighbor's  pockets. 

Shortly  before  election  day  this  place  is  filled  with 
tramps  who  lodge  here  free  until  they  have  performed 
their  duty  as  citizens  on  election  day.  They  are  thrown 
out  the  next  day. 

In  another  lodging  house  may  be  found  a  number  of 
broken-down  theatrical  men  and  sports  suffering  from 
dipsomania.  (They  have  the  same  right  to  call  their  vice 
by  a  euphonious  medical  term  as  the  drunkards  of  upper- 
tendom.)  There  is  more  social  intercourse  among  the 
patrons  of  this  place  than  in  any  other  lodging  house  on 
the  street.  Heavy  gambling  is  constantly  going  on,  if 
one  judges  from  the  conversation,  but  buttons  take  the 
place  of  chips,  these  being  sold  at  ten  for  a  cent,  each 
button  representing  a  dollar. 

In  one  lodging  house  there  are  many  newcomers  from 
rural  districts,  probably  attracted  by  the  name  of  the 
house.    It  does  not  differ  from  the  other  lodging  houses. 

It  is  not  until  we  reach  the  meanest  of  the  lodging 
houses  that  we  find  that  incongruous  company  composed 
of  all  manners  and  conditions  of  men,  men  once  accus- 
tomed to  the  high  hat  and  dress  suit,  men  accustomed 
from  infancy  to  rags,  men  familiar  with  the  classics  and 
men  who  cannot  spell  their  names,  the  whilom  master  of 
men  and  his  most  servile  dependent — men  once,  wretches 
now. 


84 


r  o  J'  E R  T  y  r  I LLE 


While  the  vieious  and  penniless  go  to  the  lonely  rooms 
and  dormitories  of  the  lodging  houses,  few  professional 
criminals  are  found  there.  These  as  a  rule  occupy  fur- 
nished rooms  with  their  paramours,  or  several  such  cou- 
ples may  occupy  a  flat  and  live  together  as  a  free-love 
community. 

The  men  who  are  the  panders  of  the  women  of  the 
street  invariably  hire  a  furnished  room  on  or  near  the 
Bowery,  but  the  criminals  and  thugs  prefer  a  flat  where, 
with  their  mistresses,  thieves  like  themselves,  they  live 
in  comfort.  Sometimes  three  such  couples  take  a  flat 
together,  one  posing  as  man  and  wife,  the  latter  having 
a  sister  and  a  servant  with  her.  The  other  two  men 
show  up  later  as  boarders.  They  live  quietly,  pay  their 
rent  promptly,  do  not  interfere  with  other  tenants, 
and,  although  suspicion  may  be  aroused  by  the  irregular 
hours  at  which  the  members  arrive  and  depart,  they 
remain  until  they  run  afoul  of  the  police. 

Private  philanthropy  has  done  more  for  the  fallen  and 
disreputable  woman  than  for  the  homeless  and  penniless 
woman  who  tries  to  maintain  her  honor  and  her  self- 
respect. 

For  the  latter  class  there  are  four  places  where  they 
can  obtain  free  lodgings.  At  the  "Free  Home  for  Young 
Girls,"  in  East  11th  Street,  girls  between  the  ages  of  13 
and  25  are  provided  with  a  temporary  home,  until  sit- 
uations can  be  secured  for  them  in  Christian  families. 


POJ'ERTV  V  ILLE 


85 


In  the  Shelter  for  Respectable  Girls,  East  46th  Street, 
Protestant  working  women  can  find  a  temporary  home. 
In  the  Bowery  district  is  the  St.  Barnabas  House  in  '\h\\- 
berry  Street.  Here  destitute  women  without  regard  to 
race,  creed  or  color,  are  kept  a  few  days.  Whites  and 
blacks,  Americans,  Italians,  Russians,  the  old  and  the 
young,  receive  equal  care  and  attention,  a  very  laudable 
provision  from  a  philanthropic  standpoint,  although  very 
distasteful  to  a  high-spirited  American  girl  in  adversitv. 
Such  a  girl  rarely  remains  more  than  a  day  in  this  home. 
She  will  then  go  to  one  of  the  other  homes  if  she  can 
obtain  admission.  As  a  final  resort  the  destitute  woman 
can  go  to  the  ^lunicipal  lodging  house.  Here  she  is 
thrown  in  contact  with  the  most  wretched  of  her  class. 

The  Salvation  Army  has  a  lodging  house  for  women, 
on  the  Bowery,  where  the  rates  are  ten  to  fifteen  cents, 
but  penniless  women  can  sometimes  obtain  lodgings  free. 

For  respectable  women  who  can  pay  a  little,  there 
are  a  number  of  homes  where  rates  are  from  15  cents 
upwards  a  night.  On  the  Bowery  itself  there  is  the  Sal- 
vation Army  lodging  house,  a  worthy  philanthropy  in  its 
way,  lacking,  however,  the  elevating  influence  of  refined 
surroundings  and  company. 

In  Rivington  Street,  near  the  Bowery,  is  a  woman's 
lodging  house  conducted  like  the  better  class  of  men's 
lodging  houses,  with  rooms  from  15  to  50  cents  a  night. 


86 


PO]'  liRT  y \'  I  LLE 


There  are  a  number  of  temporary  homes  for  respect- 
able women  where  low  rates  are  charged  and  home  com- 
forts are  furnished. 

These  are  all  semi-philanthropic,  the  income  for  board 
and  lodging  being  insufficient  to  cover  the  running  ex- 
penses, the  deficiency  being  made  up  by  voluntary  contri- 
butions. 

Those  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Bowery  are  the 
Florence  Hotel  in  East  14th  Street,  the  homes  conducted 
by  the  Ladies'  Christian  Union,  one  in  9th  Street  near 
Broadway,  the  other  in  2nd  Avenue  near  18th  Street,  and 
the  Margaret  Louise  Home  in  East  16th  Street.  This 
last  is  connected  with  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

The  ordinary  woman  of  the  street  generally  hires  a 
furnished  room  in  a  side  street  near  the  Bowery  where 
a  number  of  houses  are  occupied  exclusively  by  women  of 
this  class.  The  rooms  are  poorly  furnished,  muslin 
shades,  oil  cloth,  a  bed,  wash-stand,  bureau  and  chair 
comprising  the  entire  contents  of  the  room. 

Occasionally  one  will  hire  a  flat  in  a  respectable 
house,  furnish  it,  and  live  there  with  her  lover  as  hus- 
band and  wife ;  or  an  old  woman  will  hire  a  flat  and  let 
out  rooms  to  these  women,  who  pose  as  her  daughters. 

The  tenement  house  commissioners  are  making  stren- 
uous efiforts  to  drive  such  women  out  of  respectable  tene- 
ments.   In  one  house  on  2nd  Street  a  woman  who  hired 


POVERTY  V ILLE 


87 


a  flat  for  herself  and  two  daughters  was  dispossessed  two 
months  later  when  the  family  of  "daughters"  had  in- 
creased to  nine. 

While  a  wretch  is  still  attractive  she  can  always  earn 
enough  to  hire  a  furnished  room.  Later,  when  she  must 
depend  upon  the  drunken  fellow  who  cannot  see  straight, 
she  falls  back  upon  a  Raines  Law  hotel,  to  which  she 
conducts  him.  Still  later,  when  not  even  the  drunken 
sailor  will  consort  with  her  and  she  must  do  washing  and 
scrubbing,  with  occasional  stealing,  her  nights  are  spent 
in  the  back  rooms  of  the  lowest  dives.  Then  comes  the 
Salvation  Army,  the  ^Municipal  lodging  house,  the  police 
station  and  the  workhouse.  Only  as  a  last  resort  will 
the  woman  of  the  street  apply  at  a  home  for  fallen 
women.  On  the  rare  occasions  when  a  woman  of  this 
class  becomes  conscience-stricken,  she  will  apply  to  be 
committed  to  a  reformatory  institution.  Even  then  she 
is  likely  to  change  her  mind  before  entering.  As  a  rule 
when  these  women  apply  at  a  home  for  fallen  women  it 
is  to  obtain  shelter  for  a  few  days  and  perhaps  soixie 
clothing. 

The  Florence  Crittenton  Alission  in  Bleecker  Street 
near  the  Bowery,  the  Washington  Square  Home  for 
Friendless  Girls  on  Washington  Square  South,  and  tlie 
Salvation  Army  Industrial  Home  in  East  15th  Street  are 
the  ones  to  which  these  women  usually  apply. 

Here  they  receive  board  and  lodging  and  such  menial, 
moral  and  industrial  training  as  would  fit  them  to  be- 


88 


POV  ERTYV I LLE 


come  respected  working  women.  All  this  training  is, 
however,  wasted  on  most  of  them,  for  they  are  unaccus- 
tomed to  mental  or  manual  labor  and  do  not  take  kindly 
to  either.  In  a  few  days  after  they  leave  they  are  in 
their  old  haunts  again,  looking  for  customers. 

There  are  several  reformatories  and  homes  for  fallen 
women  to  which  such  women  are  committed  by  police 
magistrates  and  which  receive  fallen  women  who  apply 
voluntarily.  Few,  however,  go  voluntarily  to  v/hat  they 
consider  a  prison.  Young  women  who  want  to  give  up 
their  vicious  vocation  prefer  to  go  to  the  Washington 
Square  Home,  which  does  not  lay  special  stress  in  its 
name  or  methods  upon  religion  or  a  religious  denomina- 
tion. Older  women  generally  go  to  one  of  the  Salvation 
Army  homes.  A  few  are  attracted  by  the  street  services 
of  the  Florence  Crittenton  Alission  and  go  to  the  Alission 
House,  which  is  a  short  distance  from  the  Bowery. 

Brothels  were  once  as  numerous  in  Povertyville  as 
the  Raines  Law  hotels  are  now.  Before  determined  ef- 
forts were  made  to  stamp  them  out,  and  while  men  of 
means  still  visited  the  Bowery  district  for  their  pleasures, 
there  were  scores  of  unobtrusive,  small  buildings  just 
east  of  the  Bowery,  where  "madams"  and  their  girls 
were  housed.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate  their  char- 
acter to  the  passer-by,  and  frequently  the  dwellers  in 
adjoining  houses  knew  nothing  of  their  neighbors.  In 
these  houses  the  basement  was  used  as  a  dining  room  and 
kitchen,  the  parlor  was  the  reception  room  where  the 


P  OV  ERT  Y  V  I LLE 


89 


girls  sat  awaiting  their  patrons.  The  upper  rooms  were 
bedrooms.  When  it  became  necessary  to  attract  patrons 
a  cigar  store  was  opened  in  the  basement  or  on  the 
ground  floor. 

When  a  stranger  entered,  madam  would  sell  him  a 
cigar,  if  that  was  his  purpose,  but  would  suggest  that 
he  visit  the  reception  room  upstairs.  As  the  class  of  pa- 
trons became  poorer,  the  number  of  disreputable  houses 
decreased.  Instead  of  these,  there  are  now  the  cider 
rooms  and  a  few  cigar  stores  having  rooms  in  the  rear 
or  over  the  store. 

The  brothels  of  the  eighties  were  the  prototypes  of 
the  fashionable  houses  of  ill  fame  later  found  in  the 
Tenderloin  district.  The  few  remaining  in  Povertyville 
today  are  poor  in  their  furnishings,  repellant  in  their 
surroundings  and  in  constant  danger  of  being  raided  by 
the  police.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  "Ladies  Boarding 
House,"  as  it  was  known  for  forty  years,  will  soon  be 
extinct  in  Povertyville. 

On  a  few  blocks  east  of  the  Bowery,  in  what  was 
known  as  the  Red  Light  district,  there  are  still  a  few 
houses  of  this  character.  The  Red  Light  district  was 
so  called  because  the  hall  light  in  disreputable  houses 
had  a  red  globe  or  shone  through  red  curtains  covering 
the  transom  of  the  hall  door.  A  red  light  before  a  cigar 
store,  cider  room  or  coffee  room  indicated  its  purpose. 
The  Parisian  licensed  brothel  has  a  red  lantern  with  the 
number  of  the  house  over  the  door.    The  few  remaining 


90 


POVERTYVILLE 


houses  of  this  character  in  the  district  liave  no  distin- 
guishing marks  other  than  the  women  who  sometimes 
stand  before  the  door  to  attract  patrons.  The  best 
known  has  had  its  Hquor  license  revoked  and  now  admits 
only  habitues. 

In  Chrystie  Street  is  a  beggar's  colony  where  a  score 
or  more  of  these  wretches  congregate  in  four  small  rooms 
of  a  rear  house.  Here  they  sleep,  eat,  gamble  and  quar- 
rel. One  room  is  the  kitchen,  dining  room  and  sitting 
room,  the  others  are  sleeping  apartments,  The  wretches 
pay  50  cents  a  week  for  the  privilege  of  sleeping  on  the 
floor  and  25  cents  more  for  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  half 
loaf  of  bread  in  the  morning. 

The  beggar  colonies  are  constantly  on  the  move,  as 
they  are  in  violation  of  the  sanitary  code  and  house  own- 
ers turn  them  out  when  they  find  for  what  purpose  the 
rooms  are  used. 

A  colony  of  old  wretches  who  hang  about  street  cor- 
ners on  the  East  Side  was  recently  turned  out  of  a  ram- 
shackle house  in  Oliver  Street.  They  slept  upon  mat- 
tresses laid  upon  the  floor,  paying  five  or  ten  cents  a 
night  for  the  privilege. 

The  question  of  food  is  more  readily  solved  by 
wretches  than  that  of  lodgings. 

For  those  who  can  pay  there  is  every  grade  of  res- 
taurant from  Lorber's  restaurant  on  Grand  Street  near 
the  Bowery,  and  the  restaurant  of  the  Occidental  Hotel, 
which   compare    favorably   with   good   restaurants  on 


P 0 V ERT Y VILLE 


91 


Broadway,  to  the  miserable  bole  on  Roosevelt  Street, 
wbere  one  and  two  cent  meals  are  furnisbed.  Tbe  St. 
Andrews  Coffee  Stands,  supported  by  private  charity, 
furnish  one-cent  meals — either  coffee,  soup  or  beans. 

Besides  the  regular  restaurants  there  are  saloons  hav- 
ing lunch  counters,  where  a  small  charge  is  made  for 
meals,  saloons  furnishing  meals  at  the  noon  hour,  the 
free-lunch  counters,  the  meals  furnished  by  missions  as 
an  inducement  to  the  wretches  to  attend  the  services,  and 
two  charities,  private  enterprises,  which  furnish  food 
free  to  the  hungry  without  making  public  appeals,  and 
without  hiring  brass  bands  and  reporters. 

In  Lyon's  restaurant,  the  largest  on  the  Bowery,  as 
elaborate  a  meal  can  be  obtained  as  in  good  restaurants 
elsewhere.  The  prices  are  somewhat  higher  than  in  other 
restaurants  on  the  Bowery,  but  much  lower  than  the 
prices  charged  for  the  same  quality  and  quantity  of  food 
in  fashionable  restaurants.  Of  course,  the  service  and 
surroundings  in  a  Bowery  restaurant  do  not  compare 
with  what  we  expect  to  find  on  the  Avenue  or  Broadway. 

In  Lorber's  restaurant  the  meals  furnished  are  as 
good  and  plentiful  as  are  furnished  in  uptown  establish- 
ments, and  the  prices  are  about  one-third  less. 

Of  the  cheaper  restaurants,  those  connected  with  the 
Mills  hotels  furnish  perhaps  the  best  meals  for  the  price. 
They  charge  ten  cents  for  breakfast  consisting  of  a  cup 
of  coffee,  rolls  and  butter,  and  either  eggs  or  a  dish  of 
meat,  sausage  or  fish.    Their  fifteen-cent  dinner  consists 


92 


POr  ERT  Y  r I L LE 


of  a  choice  of  soups,  a  meal  dish,  giving  a  choice  of 
four  or  five  varieties,  two  kinds  of  vegetables,  dessert, 
tea,  coffee  or  milk,  bread  and  butter.  The  same  meal 
in  a  Bowery  restaurant  would  cost  from  thirty  to  fifty 
cents. 

The  Squirrel  Inn,  established  by  a  temperance  society 
to  counteract  the  influence  of  saloons,  was  formerly  an 
ordinary  Bowery  restaurant  having  a  free  reading  room 
on  the  upper  floor.  On  the  Bowery  it  was  supposed  to 
be  a  well-paying  restaurant,  competing  with  other  res- 
taurants in  the  neighborhood,  apparently  a  money-mak- 
ing philanthropy.  The  reading  room  has  been  moved  to 
the  ground  floor  and  the  upper  floor  is  rented  out.  The 
same  Society  maintains  the  lunch  wagons  found  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  city.  They  do  nothing  towards  keeping 
men  out  of  saloons ;  the  meals  they  furnish  are  insuffi- 
cient in  quantity  and  the  prices  are  relatively  higher  than 
in  other  restaurants.  In  many  of  the  Bowery  restau- 
rants quantity  and  price  are  alone  considered  by  the  pa- 
trons. In  these  there  are  plain  pinewood  tables  occa- 
sionally polished,  kitchen  chairs  occasionally  cleaned,  the 
floors  are  sanded  or  covered  with  sawdust  and  about  the 
walls  are  signs  giving  the  price  of  various  dishes  and 
the  admonition,  ''Look  out  for  overcoats  and  hats."  So 
carefully  is  this  warning  observed  that  patrons  rarely 
remove  their  overcoats  and  hats. 

There  are  no  table  cloths  or  napkins,  the  patron's 
coat  sleeve  serving  the  place  of  the  latter ;  the  chinaware 


POVERTY  V ILLE 


93 


is  the  coarsest  and  thickest  obtainable,  forks  and  spoons 
are  of  tin,  knives  of  iron.  There  are  no  butter  or  fish 
knives,  the  knife  which  the  diner  has  just  used  for  fish 
being  next  used  for  butter  and  a  moment  later  for  a  meat 
ball  or  an  apple  dumpling. 

There  are  no  menus.  The  bill  of  fare  is  posted  on  a 
blackboard  at  the  door,  or  marked  with  wet  chalk  upon 
the  window  panes,  so  that  the  diner  can  make  his  selec- 
tion before  entering.  The  diner  gives  his  order  to  the 
waiter,  who  translates  it  into  the  expressive  slang  of  the 
Bowery  as  he  shouts  into  the  kitchen,  "sinkers"  for  butter 
cakes,  "mystery"  for  hash,  "sleeve-buttons"  or  two  "sunny 
side  up"  for  two  fried  eggs,  "two  shipwrecked"  for  two 
fried  eggs  turned  over,  "soaked  bums"  for  beets,  etc. 

The  prices  in  one  of  the  largest  of  these  cheap  res- 
taurants are ;  Cofifee,  two  cents ;  coffee,  bread  and  but- 
ter, five  cents;  soup,  ten  cents,  but  if  ordered  with  meat, 
five  cents ;  most  meat  dishes,  eight  to  ten  cents ;  porter- 
house steak,  fifteen  cents;  fowl,  ten  to  fifteen  cents;  veg- 
etables, five  cents;  dessert,  pudding,  etc.,  five  cents. 

In  a  still  cheaper  restaurant  on  the  Bowery  soup  and 
meat  costs  five  cents ;  coffee,  bread  and  butter,  and  either 
two  eggs  or  some  cereal,  five  cents.  A  whole  meal,  con- 
sisting of  soup,  meat,  vegetables,  a  piece  of  pie  and  a  cup 
of  coffee,  costs  ten  cents. 

The  cheapest  place  charges  one  cent  for  soup  and 
bread,  two  cents  for  meat  and  five  cents  for  a  meal  con- 
sisting of  soup,  meat,  a  potato,  coffee  and  bread. 


94 


POJ'ERTYJ'ILLE 


Nothing  goes  to  waste  in  the  cheap  restaurants. 
Eggs  which  may  liave  been  returned  half  a  dozen  times 
on  account  of  their  odor  arc  sent  out  again  when  the 
next  order  for  eggs  comes  in,  and  if  finally  left  over  they 
are  used  to  increase  the  stuff  which  goes  into  next  day's 
hash  or  ''mystery."  The  various  kinds  of  steak  differ 
only  in  the  size  of  the  portions  sent  out ;  veal  is  used 
when  lamb  is  ordered  and  every  bit  of  food  brought  back 
is  made  to  do  service  in  another  form. 

In  the  five-cent  restaurants  the  bill  of  fare  is  exceed- 
ingly limited,  there  being  but  one  kind  of  soup  each  day, 
three  meat  dishes,  steak,  hash  and  stew ;  one  variety  of 
vegetable,  potatoes ;  one  kind  of  dessert,  mince  pie ;  two 
cereals,  oatmeal  and  hominy ;  besides  coffee,  tea,  milk, 
bread,  butter  and  eggs.  Early  comers  receive  soup,  later 
ones  receive  soup  diluted  with  water ;  when  the  stock  is 
nearly  exhausted,  diners  receive  water  diluted  with  soup. 
The  meat  is  the  poorest  obtainable  and  first  does  service 
in  the  soup.  What  is  left  over  one  day  goes  into  the 
next  day's  hash  or  stew. 

The  meals  furnished  at  the  saloon  lunch  counter?, 
where  a  small  charge  is  made,  are  plain  and  well  cooked. 
The  charge  is  about  the  same  as  in  ordinary  restaurants. 
Sometimes  a  simple  lunch  is  prepared  for  the  noon  hour 
and  a  small  charge,  five  or  ten  cents,  is  made  for  the 
same.  The  dives  and  Raines  Law  hotels  of  the  brothel 
class  serve  no  lunch. 


P  OV  ERT  Y  V  I LLE 


95 


The  free  lunches  differ  with  the  class  of  saloon. 
Elaborate  saloons  have  usually  elaborate  free  lunches. 
If  a  charge  is  made  for  lunch  during  the  lunch  hour, 
everything  but  bread  is  removed  from  the  free  lunch 
counter  during  that  hour.  One  saloon,  well  known  for 
the  quantity  and  variety  of  its  free  lunches,  supplies  the 
purchaser  of  a  glass  of  beer  with  a  full  meal,  consisting 
of  soup,  stew,  hot  sausages,  steamed  clams  or  clam 
chowder,  various  kinds  of  meat,  sausage  and  cheese 
sandwiches,  pickles,  onions,  olives,  radishes,  etc. 

In  one  saloon,  where  the  size  of  the  glasses  is  the 
main  attraction,  there  are  three  firkins,  one  filled  with 
pieces  of  bread,  one  wnth  beef,  cooked  meat  and  sausage, 
and  one  with  pieces  of  cheese. 

The  receptacles  are  not  replenished  until  empty.  Pa- 
trons take  w^hat  they  want  by  the  handful  and  when  the 
bartender  is  not  looking  they  fill  their  pockets  with  the 
food. 

In  one  saloon  each  patron  receives  a  roast  beef  sand- 
wich, the  meat  being  roasted  on  a  spit  near  the  bar. 

Of  the  restaurants  supported  by  philanthropic  soci- 
eties, that  attached  to  the  Bowery  Branch  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  is  the  best  known.  A  meal  consisting  of  soup, 
meat  or  chowder,  and  coffee  and  bread  costs  five  cents, 
but  many  penniless  men  receive  the  meals  free.  A  fair 
dinner  is  furnished  for  fifteen  cents. 

The  lunch  wagons,  and  the  restaurants  connected  with 
Salvation  Army  hotels,  charge  full  price  for  their  meals 


96 


POVERTYVILLE 


and  it  is  not  generally  known  that  they  are  conducted  by 
philanthropic  organizations  seeking  voluntary  contribu- 
tions. Another  restaurant  of  the  same  kind,  formerly 
run  by  the  owner  of  a  great  sectarian  weekly,  is  one  of 
the  poorest,  yet  probably  one  of  the  best  paying  on  the 
street. 

The  free  meals  furnished  by  missions  do  more  to  en- 
courage hypocrisy  than  evangelical  work.  Many  of  the 
''reformed"  wretches  who  give  their  testimony  and  expe- 
rience do  so  for  the  promised  meal.  Afterwards  they 
go  out  for  more  experience.  On  the  night  that  free  lunch 
is  announced  the  mission  is  crowded  to  the  doors. 
Thursday  is  free  lunch  night  at  the  Bowery  Mission  and 
though  the  room  be  half  empty  on  other  nights  of  the 
week,  there  is  a  full  house  on  lunch  night. 

The  only  requisite  to  obtain  a  meal  is  that  the  recipi- 
ent remains  throughout  the  service.  The  meal  consists 
of  hot  cofifee,  bread  and  sandwiches.  A  bread  line  is 
formed  nightly  in  front  of  this  mission,  where  bread  is 
given  to  every  applicant. 

Meals  are  also  occasionally  distributed  at  the  services 
of  the  Volunteers  of  America. 

It  is  probable  that  more  meals  are  given  away  daily 
by  the  men  who  have  charge  of  the  free  lunch  counters 
in  the  saloons  than  by  philanthropic  organizations  in  a 
month. 


POJ'ERTVVILLE 


97 


There  is,  however,  one  unostentatious  charity  which 
has  never  appealed  for  contributions,  yet  has  for  years 
distributed  its  benefits  to  all  applicants  without  question. 

This  is  the  midnight  distribution  of  bread  at  Fleisch- 
man's  bakery,  corner  Broadway  and  11th  Street. 

At  Fleischman's  a  bread  line  is  formed  at  midnight 
at  the  side  door  on  11th  Street,  and  as  each  applicant 
passes  the  door  a  loaf  of  bread  is  handed  to  him.  A 
woman  applying  for  an  extra  loaf  for  her  family  receives 
it.    Xo  questions  are  ever  asked. 

While  undoubtedly  many  persons  receive  a  loaf  who 
ought  to  work  or  could  pay  for  the  same,  there  are  some 
deserving  persons  in  the  line  who  would  rather  starve 
than  submit  to  a  humiliating  inquisition.  During  the 
winter  months  there  are  sometimes  hundreds  in  the  line. 


PART  II 
THE  WRETCHES 


THE  WRETCHES 


CHAPTER  I 

PARIAHS. 

WHO  are  the  wretches  of  Povertyville ? 
Not  the  poor  who,  however  unfortunate  their 
lot  may  be,  have  conscience  as  a  guiding  star  and  hope 
as  a  companion,  who  have  no  fear  that  the  morrow  may 
find  them  in  a  prison  cell,  or  that  their  past  will  bar  the 
gates  of  salvation  to  them. 

The  wretches  are  those  in  whom  hope  is  crushed,  in 
whom  the  still  voice  of  conscience  is  dumb,  in  whom 
avarice  and  hunger  are  the  moral  mentors  and  in  whom 
the  will  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  passions. 

They  are  not  all  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  Poverty- 
ville. 

Some  are  exotics  dropping  suddenly  from  the  heights 
of  uppcr-tendom  into  its  whirlpool.  Some  have  drifted 
from  giddy  whirls  in  high  social  life,  gradually  descend- 
ing through  successive  stages  until  they  reach  the  lowest 


THE  WRETCHES 


99 


level.    Occasionally  one  goes  to  Povertyville  as  one 
would  go  to  London  or  Paris.    Its  life  has  some  rare 
fascination  for  him.    He  goes  again  and  again  until  he 
becomes  accustomed  to  its  life. 
In  the  words  of  Pope : 

"Vice  is  a  monster  of  so  hideous  a  mien, 
As  to  be  hated  if  but  to  be  seen. 
But  seen  too  often,  familiar  with  its  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 

Here  and  there  one  is  found  who  has  plunged  into 
the  whirlpool  of  Povertyville  to  escape  some  frightful 
phantom,  the  shadow  of  a  lost  love  or  a  stricken  con- 
science, or  to  seek  forget  fulness  from  sorrow  for  a  de- 
parted loved  one  or  a  misspent  fortune. 

The  exotics  are  easily  recognized,  for  even  when  near 
the  vortex,  where  they  go  down  forever,  some  mark  of 
refinement  will  present  itself. 

It  may  be  a  mark  of  neatness  such  as  clean  hands,  a 
brushed  hat,  fringes  removed  from  frayed  trousers,  or  it 
may  be  a  word  or  two  interspersed  in  the  jargon  of  the 
street,  better  fitted  to  the  drawing  room  or  the  lecture 
hall,  or  it  may  be  the  call  for  a  fashionable  drink — a  mint 
julep  or  absinthe.  They  never  refer  to  their  past.  Even 
those  who  plunge  into  the  whirlpool  to  hide  their  identity 
from  the  world  and  from  themselves  cannot  completely 
hide  every  trace  of  their  true  selves,  for  no  effort  of  the 
will  can  overcome  their  repugnance  for  filth  and  indecency. 


100 


THE  WRETCHES 


They  have  a  saying,  ''What's  bred  in  the  bone  won't 
come  out  in  the  wash,"  which  they  apply  to  themselves. 
Sooner  or  later  they  drift  into  places  where  others  of 
their  class  congregate  and  where  they  can  be  found  if 
wanted.    They  betray  themselves. 

The  female  wretches  who  show  by  their  manner  and 
speech  that  they  were  accustomed  to  refined  surround- 
ings reach  Povertyville  through  many  gradations  and 
degradations.  Rarely  does  one  drop  from  a  high  to  a 
low  station  in  fast  life,  rarer  still  is  it  to  find  one  coming 
from  upper-tendom  to  Povertyville  and  there  begin  her 
downward  course. 

Unlike  the  men,  the  women  do  not  remain  in  the 
places  which  knew  them  in  their  days  of  innocence. 

There  are  some  who  are  as  familiar  with  Brighton, 
Aix  la  Bains  and  Cannes  as  with  Bar  Harbor  and  St. 
Augustine,  and  as  familiar  with  these  places  as  with  the 
New  York  Tenderloin  and  the  Bowery. 

What  led  these  exotics  into  the  currents  which  end 
in  the  vortex  of  Povertyville's  whirlpool? 

It  is  easy  to  surmise  but  difficult  to  prove  that  mis- 
placed confidence  in  a  lover's  vows  first  led  them  from 
the  path  of  rectitude.  Some  come  to  escape  a  harsh 
father  or  husband,  others  began  in  pique  and  continued 
in  remorse. 

A  harsh  word  or  an  unjust  suspicion  drove  some  from 
their  homes.  Some,  attracted  by  the  glamor  of  the  foot- 
lights, found  the  tempter  at  the  stage  door,  while  others 


THE  WRETCHES 


101 


began  by  worshipping  a  stage  idol,  forgetting  that  stage 
idols  have  the  human  passions  of  other  men.  A  few- 
were  born  wretches,  wretched  beings  whose  earliest  rec- 
ollections are  the  walls  of  a  foundling  asylum,  or  a 
wretch  for  a  mother. 

The  exotics  from  upper-tendom  form  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  wretches  of  Povertyville.  Some  come 
from  rural  districts,  most  are  indigenous. 

Thousands  of  country  lads,  tired  of  the  dull  monot- 
ony of  farm  life,  come  to  the  city  to  emulate  the  few  who 
have  had  a  successful  career.  When  they  fail  and  reach 
the  end  of  their  resources,  they  drift  into  Povertyville. 

Here  they  soon  become  full-fledged  wretches,  for  they 
are  apt  pupils  and  the  ways  of  vice  are  not  hard  to  learn. 
Begging  is  easy  and  involves  little  risk,  but  the  spirit  of 
the  young  fellow  fresh  from  the  country  revolts  at  rob- 
bery.   Drinking  and  gambling  are  later  accomplishments. 

After  one  has  acquired  these  vices,  if  he  is  still  young 
and  strong,  he  will  "cut  out"  the  lover  of  a  woman  of 
the  street,  either  in  a  fight  or  while  the  other  is  in  jail. 
Then  he  is  in  clover.  But  his  fate  is  like  the  fate  of  all 
such  lovers,  either  a  thief  ending  his  days  in  prison,  or  a 
sot  who  finally  reaches  the  morgue. 

With  but  few  exceptions  the  female  wretches  from 
the  country  belong  to  one  of  two  classes — stage-struck 
lasses  finally  stranded  in  Xew  York,  or  pitiable  girls  de- 
serted by  their  false  lovers,  wlio  come  to  New  York  for 
relief  and  to  hide  their  shame. 


102 


THE    W  R  ETC  II  lis 


Tlie  low  burlesque  companies  are  responsible  for  most 
of  the  former  class. 

The  girls  are  attracted  by  the  glitter  and  glamor  of 
the  stage  and  they  want  to  become  actresses.  They  will 
w^ork  without  salary  if  the  manager  will  give  them  a 
chance. 

On  such  terms  they  are  accepted,  and  the  freckled- 
faced,  red-armed,  angular  farmhand  of  yesterday  now 
dons  the  padded  fleshings,  uses  grease  paint  and  stands 
statuesque  in  the  rear  row  of  the  chorus. 

The  first  night  awav  is  crucial.  The  novelty,  the  glo- 
rious prospects,  the  companions'  consolation  and  the  stage- 
door  masher's  w^ine,  or  the  dull,  prosaic  home  and  hoe. 
The  wine  is  the  deciding  factor.  If  there  be  no  masher 
on  hand  to  supply  the  wine,  the  manager  or  some  mem- 
ber of  the  company  will  supply  beer  or  liquor. 

The  effect  is  the  same — the  morrow  brings  regrets, 
but  the  prospects  overcome  repentance.  After  a  few 
seasons,  during  which  she  has  become  world-wnse,  her 
sensibilities  and  sentiment  are  destroyed,  her  charms  and 
usefulness  on  the  burlesque  stage  are  gone,  she  is  accus- 
tomed to  the  association  of  men  and  to  the  taste  of  liquor, 
and  now  finds  refuge  in  the  Bowery  concert  halls. 

The  poor,  deluded  and  deserted  victims  of  man's  pas- 
sions hide  their  shame  and  drown  their  sorrow  in  the  same 
wliirlpool.    But  they  have  the  same  desire   for  self- 


THE  WRETCHES 


103 


preservation  as  their  more  fortunate  sisters.  They  sell 
their  body  and  soul  to  men,  cursing  them  who  buy  their 
favors. 

Many  of  them  become  opium  fiends  and  find  in  the 
fumes  of  the  drug  a  happy  consolation  in  which  perdition 
is  hidden. 

The  indigenous  wretches  form  classes  distinct  from 
the  exotics.  To  many,  accustomed  from  childhood  to 
the  all-pervading  air  of  vice,  the  elevating  influence  of 
law  and  order  is  lost,  these  acting  merely  as  a  restraint 
to  their  passions. 

A  wretch  of  this  kind  is  a  savage,  cowed  by  fear  of 
the  policeman's  club,  an  anarchist  in  principle,  though 
rejecting  the  name,  often  a  degenerate  with  animal 
instincts  more  highly  developed  than  those  intuitive  re- 
straints which  we  call  conscience,  sentiment,  modesty  and 
honor.  A  prominent  characteristic  in  this  class  is  aver- 
sion to  continuous  labor  and  routine.  They  cannot  sub- 
mit to  a  superior. 

The  fear  of  physical  pain  and  the  forcible  deprivation 
of  his  pleasures  and  e^^ercise  of  his  passions  are  the  influ- 
ences affecting  him.  The  policeman  is  the  embodiment 
of  law  and  his  mortal  enemy.  He  knows  woman  from 
childhood  and  -her  charms  and  favors  from  the  earliest 
possible  age. 

He  will  work  hard  if  he  must,  but  it  is  easier  to  steal, 
still  easier  to  beg.  Devoid  of  sentiment,  he  has  no 
friends,  but  his  gregarious  nature  demands  companions. 


104 


'/•//  /:    II-  RJi  rC  11  US 


yet  for  his  own  safety  he  will  sacrifice  his  brother.  His 
daring,  applied  to  an  honorable  calling,  would  be  courage, 
but  there  is  no  chivalry  in  his  nature.  Prison  conveys  no 
sense  of  degradation  to  him;  it  means  to  him  only  com- 
pulsory labor  and  deprivation  of  pleasure.  He  is  an 
inveterate  gambler,  finding  less  pleasure  in  his  winnings 
than  in  the  humiliation  of  a  defeated  opponent.  He  will 
take  every  unfair  advantage  over  his  adversary,  as  ready 
to  cheat  a  child  out  of  a  penny  as  a  man  out  of  his  last 
dollar.  He  finds  a  ferocious  delight  in  the  injury  he  in- 
flicts upon  another. 

He  is  an  excellent  lover  to  his  female  companion,  and 
will  run  any  risk  to  defend  her,  providing  she  earns 
enough  to  supply  his  w^ants ;  at  the  same  time  he  is  the 
harshest  of  tyrants  over  her.  There  is  no  sentiment  in 
such  companionship.  To  him  she  is  a  source  of  income 
and  a  means  of  gratifying  his  passions  without  expense; 
to  her  he  is  a  paid  protector  and  aid.  When  she  becomes 
unprofitable  he  drops  her  without  the  slightest  scruple 
or  explanation,  li  he  is  arrested  or  loses  in  a  fight  with 
a  rival  she  sheds  no  tears ;  he  is  ''down  and  out"  as  far 
as  she  is  concerned.  This  type  of  wretch  invariably 
lands  in  jail.  He  may  have  begun  his  criminal  career 
during  childhood,  following  the  example  set  before  him 
by  vicious  parents;  or  he  may  have  begun  as  a  youth, 
joining  one  of  the  gangs  of  corner  loafers  who  have  no 
visible  means  of  support,  yet  dress  well  and  spend  money, 
or  he  may  have  begun  his  vicious  career  as  a  young  man, 


THE  WRETCHES 


105 


visiting  the  dives  and  attaching  himself  to  one  of  the 
women  he  finds  there ;  all  follow  the  same  course  which 
finally  lands  them  in  prison.  Crime  begets  crime  and 
the  association  with  criminals  leaves  its  taint.  The  fel- 
low without  conscience,  thrown  in  contact  with  the  more 
desperate  criminals  in  prison,  comes  out  worse  than  be- 
fore. He  becomes  the  ally  of  the  robber  and  burglar  who 
look  for  higher  game  and  leaves  the  Bowery  to  the  petty 
thief  and  pickpocket. 

Not  all  the  wretches  who  spring  from  Povertyville 
begin  as  such.  Some  have  heart  and  conscience  and  fight 
like  heroes  to  keep  out  of  its  whirlpool.  They  look  be- 
yond their  surroundings  and  make  mighty  efforts  to 
reach  a  higher  plane.  They  fail,  lose  hope,  then  plunge 
in  madly,  caring  little  how  soon  the  end  is  reached. 

Occasionally  one  is  found  who  had  reached  a  higher 
plane.  But  he  had  looked  back  and  had  seen  a  woman's 
smile  or  heard  a  tempter's  call ;  or,  unaccustomed  to  pros- 
perity, he  had  gone  through  the  pittance  which  was  to 
him  wealth,  and  was  back  again  in  Povertyville.  Many 
may  be  found  who  until  the  death  of  a  loving  wife  or 
child  led  righteous  lives.  Drink  brought  forgetfulness 
from  sorrow,  but  it  also  dulled  the  mind  and  conscience 
and  they  became  sots. 

The  exotics  pass  through  Povertyville  either  as  home- 
less, penniless  unfortunates,  or  as  drunkards,  the  former 
going  from  penury  to  beggary,  from  beggary  to  vice  and 
crime,  the  latter  becoming  sots.    The  indigenous  wretches 


106 


Til  II    ]]  RIi  TC  II  ES 


usually  start  out  as  criminals,  but  those  who  try  to  drown 
sorrow  in  drink  do  not  follow  a  criminal  career. 

And  the  women  who  begin  their  wretched  careers  in 
Povertyville  ?  Some  are  pitiful  indeerl,  well  worth  sym- 
pathy and  aid ;  others  have  not  a  redeeming  virtue. 

Here  is  the  young  girl  who,  like  her  fallen  sister  from 
the  country,  loved  not  wisely  but  too  well.  Driven  to 
the  street  by  her  parents,  she  goes  to  a  home  for  fallen 
women. 

AMiether  it  be  the  home  of  a  wretch  or  a  place  for 
reformation,  she  receives  shelter  and  learns  the  ways  and 
wiles  of  the  women  of  her  class.  A  few  months  later 
there  is  another  waif  in  the  foundling  asylum  and  another 
woman  on  the  street. 

There  is  the  young  woman  whose  scanty  wages  at 
the  machine  or  behind  the  counter  barely  sufficed  to  keep 
her  body  and  soul  together.  Then  came  the  ''gentleman 
friend"  who  loaned  her  a  few  dollars,  and  then  the  strug- 
gle between  gratitude  and  honor.  Gratitude  won,  her 
honor  lost,  the  debt  was  cancelled.  Tis  but  a  step  from 
granting  favors  in  gratitude  for  money  loaned  never  to 
be  repaid  and  granting  such  favors  for  the  price. 

There  is  the  poor  wretch  who,  out  of  work,  out  of 
resources,  without  friends,  without  home,  goes  delib- 
erately '*on  the  town."  She  seeks  aid  and  advice  from 
some  wretch  on  the  street.  Wretches  though  they  be, 
they  take  the  newcomer  into  their  midst  and  initiate  her 
into  the  tricks  of  their  trade. 


THE  WRETCHES 


107 


There  are  many  married  women  on  the  street.  There 
is  the  one  who,  forgetful  of  her  wedding  vows,  is  turned 
adrift  by  her  husband,  then  forsaken  by  her  paramour. 
In  despair  she  goes  on  the  street. 

Some  have  taken  up  this  life  on  finding  that  their 
husbands  were  unfaithful  to  them,  others  are  driven  to 
their  calHng  by  worthless  husbands  who  hve  by  the  shame 
of  the  women  they  had  sworn  to  love,  honor  and  protect. 

There  are  apparently  respectable  women  who  solicit 
on  the  street  while  their  husbands  are  at  work.  They 
do  this  to  earn  pin  money  and  their  husbands,  unconscious 
of  the  source  of  the  money,  compliment  them  for  their 
economy. 

]\Iost  pitiful  is  the  poor  deserted  or  widowed  mother 
who  must  ply  this  trade  to  furnish  food  for  her  little 
ones.  She  does  not  drink,  will  not  steal  and  is  econom- 
ical, but  is  a  wretch  withal. 

Then  there  is  the  pitiful  spectacle — the  daughter  of  a 
wretch,  perhaps  a  child  of  dishonor,  brought  up  to  follow 
her  mother's  vocation.  ^Mother  and  daughter  at  the  same 
table,  each  bidding  against  the  other  for  the  patronage 
of  the  same  man! 

The  daughter  has  seen  this  life  from  childhood  and 
has  been  prepared  for  it  for  years.  She  has  no  concep- 
tion of  modesty,  morality  or  honor  as  virtues,  but  knows 
how  far  the  law  will  allow  her  to  go.  Her  ideas  of  pro- 
priety are  determined  not  by  conscience  but  by  statute. 


108 


THE  WRETCHES 


We  can  account  for  her  lack  of  rectitude,  but  how  ex- 
plain the  mother's  moral  obliquity? 

Some  plunge  into  the  whirl,  knowing  yet  disregarding 
its  dangers.  In  the  giddy  whirl  they  can  lead  a  giddy 
life,  cost  what  it  may.  A  short  life  but  a  merry  one  is 
their  motto.  They  are  not  naturally  vicious,  but  they 
want  pleasure.  They  lead  apparently  respectable  lives, 
work  by  day,  but  under  cover  of  darkness  they  hover 
about  or  cross  the  portals  which  lead  to  the  Underworld 
of  Poverty ville. 

Once  discovered,  they  throw  off  all  reserve  and  be- 
come the  most  brazen  of  wretches.  They  know  right 
from  wrong  and  will  do  right  as  long  as  it  does  not  inter- 
fere with  their  pleasures  and  comfort.  They  become  the 
consorts  of  criminals  and  many  become  opium  fiends. 

This  class  is  recruited  from  the  working  girls  who 
spend  their  evenings  at  the  dance  halls. 

There  is  one  class  of  wretches  who,  like  their  male 
counterparts,  are  naturally  vicious,  devoid  of  moral  in- 
stincts and  conscience.  These  wretches  are  not  driven 
to  their  calling  through  want,  nor  take  it  up  for  pleasure 
or  in  pique ;  neither  do  they  seek  oblivion  or  death. 

Their  condition  is  the  result  of  environment,  perhaps 
heredity,  and  lack  of  moral  teachings.  They  seek  the 
gratification  of  their  passions,  the  acquirement  of  adorn- 
ments and  freedom  from  physical  exertion. 

With  savage  instincts  not  repressed  by  any  inherent 
sense  of  propriety,  their  actions  are  governed  by  their 


THE  WRETCHES 


109 


slender  knowledge  of  v/hat  the  law  demands  and  pro- 
hibits. To  them  virtue  and  vice  are  not  even  relative 
terms,  for  without  the  moral  sense  to  distinguish  right 
from  wrong,  their  conception  of  these  is  based  upon 
their  likes  and  dislikes.  Fear  of  punishment  has  a  de- 
terrent effect  upon  them,  but  moral  and  religious  teach- 
ings are  wasted  after  they  once  set  out  upon  their  vicious 
career.  They  become  in  time  the  vilest  of  wretches, 
vicious  and  criminal,  and  are  the  usual  consorts  of  crim- 
inals. 

There  is  still  one  class  of  wretches,  male  and  female, 
we  hardly  dare  mention  lest  we  tread  upon  forbidden 
ground.  This  class  is  composed  of  those  whose  pro- 
pensities, viler  than  animal  since  they  have  no  counter- 
part in  the  animal  kingdom,  place  them  outside  of  any 
human  category.  They  call  themselves  fairies."  Such 
a  wretch,  born  of  human  parents,  in  the  semblance  of 
man  gives  himself  a  female  appelative,  imitates  woman's 
voice  and  ways,  and  as  far  as  he  dares  wears  woman's 
attire. 

He  plucks  out  the  hair  which  might  form  the  mus- 
tache or  beard,  uses  rouges,  powders  and  cosmetics  and 
all  the  artifices  a  woman  might  use  to  enhance  her 
charms.  Corsets,  high-heeled  shoes  and  bracelets  are 
generally  worn  and  in  his  room  he  dons  complete  female 
attire.  This  effeminate  creature  is  in  love  with  an  equally 
despicable  wretch  of  his  own  sex. 


no 


THE  WRETCHES 


There  are  women  of  the  same  class,  mascuhne  women 
who  imitate  the  opposite  sex  as  far  as  possible.  They 
wear  their  hair  short,  shave,  employ  measures  to  give 
their  bodies  a  masculine  form  and  often  appear  in  mascu- 
line attire.  They  assume  a  gruff  voice,  and  in  time  lose 
their  natural  tone  of  voice,  associate  with  the  "fairies" 
and  in  their  social  intercourse  with  the  latter  take  the 
part  of  a  man  in  his  relations  to  a  woman. 

They  patronize  resorts  like  the  Palm,  which  has  been 
described,  and  there  give  exhibitions  of  their  bestial  prac- 
tices under  the  name  of  circus  performances.  They 
never  transfer  their  affections  to  the  opposite  sex. 
Medical  works  on  sexual  perversion  deal  with  this  class. 

Out  of  8,000  professional  beggars  in  this  city,  not 
one- fourth  are  really  poor,  not  one  per  cent  are  really 
deserving.  Few  beggars  ply  their  trade  in  Povertyville, 
and  these  are,  with  rare  exceptions,  lodging-house  inmates 
trying  to  raise  their  ''bote"  money  or  room  rent.  These 
fellows  are  really  poor  but  not  deserving.  The  profes- 
sional beggars,  the  begging  letter  writers,  the  *'fake  band- 
agers,"  and  the  regular  "pan-handlers"  find  the  Pov- 
ertyville district  a  barren  field. 

The  "fake  bandagers,"  who  pose  as  cripples,  go  to 
the  shopping  district,  where  they  work  upon  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  women,  while  the  regular  pan-handlers  or 
beggars  who  make  a  living  by  street  begging  go  to  the 
wealthier  districts. 


THE  WRETCHES 


111 


The  Bowery  beggars  ply  their  trade  not  to  make  a 
living  thereby,  but  to  obtain  enough  to  get  a  drink  or 
two  and  to  get  a  night's  lodging.  They  are  really  ama- 
teurs, but  some  are  remarkably  successful  in  inventing 
pleas  and  raising  funds.  When  they  find  that  they  can 
earn  a  fair  income  by  begging  they  graduate  into  the 
professional  class  and  desert  Povertyville. 


CHAPTER  II 


TEMPTERS   AND  PARASITES. 

nnHE  tempter  is  worse  than  the  thief. 

The  opportunity  to  steal  presents  itself  in  in- 
numerable forms  and  were  there  none  there  would  still 
be  the  opportunity  to  take  by  violence  what  could  not  be 
obtained  otherwise. 

But  were  there  no  way  to  dispose  of  booty  there 
would  be  no  incentive  to  steal.  Opportunity  makes  the 
thief,  but  the  fence  is  his  tempter. 

The  fence  is  the  man  who  knowingly  buys  stolen 
goods.  Formerly  when  the  pawnbroker  was  not  hedged 
in  by  restrictions,  when  the  license  fee  was  low  and  no 
bond  was  required,  the  pawnbroker  was  the  recognized 
fence.  Then,  as  now,  the  pawnbrokers  were  notified  by 
the  police  of  thefts  of  articles  which  might  be  pawned 
and  honest  pawnbrokers  promptly  notified  the  police 
when  such  articles  were  offered  as  pledges.  But  many 
accepted  everything  that  came  along,  asked  no  questions, 
and  if  no  pawn  ticket  was  asked  for,  no  entry  was  made. 
This  involved  some  risk,  but  a  simple  and  legitimate 
method  of  disposing  of  such  property  was  to  make  the 
necessary  entry  of  the  article  pledged,  then,  through  an 


THE  WRETCHES 


113 


employe,  purchase  the  ticket  from  the  pledger.  The  em- 
ploye redeemed  the  pledge,  the  proper  entry  of  its  re- 
demption was  made  and  all  trace  of  the  article  was  lost. 

To-day  the  pawnbroker  is  hedged  in  by  many  restrict- 
ive laws,  even  a  technical  evasion  of  which  would  involve 
the  loss  of  his  five  hundred  dollar  license.  Yet  a  dis- 
honest pawnbroker  will  take  the  risk  of  accepting  a 
doubtful  pledge,  advising  the  pledger  to  sell  the  ticket 
to  a  dealer  in  pawn  tickets.  There  are  several  of  these 
dealers  on  and  near  the  Bowery.  The  purchaser  of  the 
pawn  ticket  redeems  the  pledge  and  it  passes  out  of  his 
hands  at  once. 

The  professional  thief,  however,  does  not  go  to  the 
pawnbroker.  He  has  business  relations  with  a  profes- 
sional fence,  who  will  give  him  more  for  the  "stuff"  than 
the  pawnbroker,  who  will  not  betray  him,  and  who  will 
dispose  of  the  goods  or  make  them  unrecognizable  in  a 
few  hours. 

The  fence  is  a  man  of  many  attainments.  He  must 
be  an  expert  jeweler  and  a  passable  tailor.  He  must  be 
able  to  judge  works  of  art  and  know  how  to  alter  them 
without  seriously  impairing  their  value.  His  knowledge 
of  the  value  of  all  kinds  of  portable  goods  must  be  as 
extensive  as  a  pawnbroker's.  He  must  have  business 
relations  with  reputable  houses  to  whom  he  can  refer  in 
an  emergency.  He  must  have  such  relations  with  deal- 
ers who  ask  no  questions,  with  small  manufacturers  who 


114 


run  WRETCHES 


will  work  up  goods  c|uickly,  and  with  out-of-town  fences 
to  whom  goods  can  l)e  sent  when  it  is  necessary  to  dis- 
pose of  them  elsewhere. 

In  his  relations  with  the  ''guns"  or  thieves,  they  are 
strangers  to  him  except  at  the  moment  of  doing  business. 
If  their  stuff  consists  of  jewelry  or  "sparklers"  (gems) 
he  is  deferential  and  offers  a  fair  price.  If  other  stuff 
is  brought  he  drives  a  hard  bargain,  and  he  will  never 
give  more  than  a  few  cents  for  each  dollar  of  value. 
On  gold  he  will  give  about  half  of  the  bullion  value.  An 
elaborately-chased  watch  case  has  no  more  value  than  a 
plain  wedding  ring  containing  the  same  amount  of  gold. 
The  usual  prices  for  watch  works  are,  twenty-five  cents 
for  American  works,  fifty  cents  for  Swiss  works,  and 
from  one  to  five  dollars  for  a  Jurgensen,  Howard  or  ex- 
pensive American  stop  watch.  On  plain  silver  he  gives 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  cents  an  ounce.  There  are  no 
general  prices  for  gems.  The  fence  is  a  shrewd  judge 
of  them,  and,  knowing  the  source  from  which  they  come, 
he  will  threaten  the  novice  a:nd  try  to  deceive  the  experi- 
enced. When  he  can  do  neither  he  will  offer  about  as 
much  as  the  pawnbroker  would,  or  possibly  a  little  more 
— from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  actual  value.  He 
will  give  very  little  for  oddities  or  rarities,  as  there  is 
greater  risk  in  disposing  of  them. 

After  the  fence  has  received  a  watch  or  "super,"  as 
the  thief  calls  it,  he  removes  the  works  from  the  case  and 
changes  the  case  number  by  means  of  a  puncii.    H  there 


THE  WRETCHES 


115 


are  other  distinguishing  marks  on  the  case  these  are  re- 
moved. If  they  cannot  be  entirely  removed,  or  too  much 
metal  is  lost  thereby,  the  case  goes  into  a  crucible  and 
in  a  few  minutes  it  is  converted  into  a  lump  of  gold.  If 
the  works  are  valuable,  the  number  on  the  train-bridge 
is  altered  by  means  of  a  punch,  then  they  are  replaced 
in  another  case.  If  it  is  an  ordinary  American  watch, 
Elgin  or  Waltham,  the  train-bridge  is  unscrewed  and 
another  one  of  the  same  make  taken  from  a  cheap  watch 
is  substituted.  If  it  is  a  very  cheap  watch  the  fence  sim- 
ply takes  out  the  works,  cleans  them  and  places  them  in 
another  cheap  case.  Within  a  few  hours  the  watch 
works,  whether  a  hundred  dollar  Howard  or  a  hundred 
cent  Ingersoll,  are  ticking  away  in  a  new  case,  probably 
in  the  window  of  a  second-hand  jewelry  store. 

When  the  fence  receives  pins,  rings,  earrings,  or  lock- 
ets containing  gems,  the  latter  are  removed  and  replaced 
by  others.  Engraved  jewelry  always  goes  into  the  melt- 
ing pot.  as  these  marks  cannot  be  cut  out  without  too 
much  loss.  Odd  shapes  and  antiques  are  hidden  a  few 
days  for  a  reward.  If  none  is  offered  they  are  altered, 
or  they  go  into  the  crucible.  Oddities  of  exceptional 
value  may  be  hidden  for  weeks  before  being  altered  or 
reset.    They  are  generally  sent  out  of  the  city. 

Such  works  of  art  as  paintings,  statuettes,  etc.,  wliicli 
cannot  be  altered  without  destroying  their  value,  may 
be  hidden  for  years,  always  awaiting  a  reward.  Thev  are 
finally  disposed  of  in  another  city,  generally  to  adorn  a 


116 


THE    W  R  E  T  C  II  E  S 


disreputable  house.  The  fence  will  never  decorate  his 
own  house  wnth  them.  A  professional  thief  will  rarely 
take  such  articles,  how^ever  valuable  they  may  be,  if  any- 
thing which  can  be  more  easily  disposed  of  is  at  hand. 
The  fence  is  an  expert  tailor  and  knows  how  to  alter 
clothing  and  dresses  so  as  to  deceive  the  rightful  owner. 

He  first  removes  identification  marks,  name  bands  and 
pocket  tags,  dyes  men's  clothing  and  such  woman's  ap- 
parel as  can  stand  dyeing,  then  alters  the  clothing  so 
that  they  wdll  not  fit  the  owner.  Identification  is  then 
impossible.  The  stuff  goes  to  a  dealer  in  second-hand 
clothing.  The  fence  will  not  take  underwear  unless  silk, 
and  he  will  not  take  cheap  goods  unless  new  and  in  quan- 
tity. He  wdll  give  very  little  for  bulky  articles  which 
cannot  be  readily  disposed  of  or  hidden.  Rolls  of  cloth, 
bundles  of  clothing  and  similar  goods  are  sent  to  a  fence 
who  can  quickly  dispose  of  such  goods.  One  fence  re- 
ceives nothing  but  goods  in  rolls  or  original  packages  and 
he  sells  them  to  small  shops,  where  thev  are  worked  up 
into  finished  material  without  delay. 

One  assayer,  who  has  been  in  business  near  the  Bow- 
ery for  years,  will  buy  anything  which  can  be  converted 
into  bullion.  He  asks  no  questions,  ofifers  about  half  of 
bullion  value,  and  as  soon  as  the  deal  is  concluded  the 
article  goes  into  the  melting  pot.  If  a  watch  is  offered 
the  would-be  seller  must  remove  the  works  before  the 
assayer  will  bid  on  the  case. 


THE  WRETCHES 


117 


So,  also,  with  a  diamond-studded  locket,  or  a  ring 
containing  a  stone.  The  gem  must  be  removed  first  be- 
fore any  deal  can  be  made.  Filigree,  repousse,  chasing 
or  engraving  have  no  value,  as  the  bullion  weight  alone 
is  considered.  Thieves  realize  more  here  on  plain  gold 
and  silver  than  at  the  regular  fence. 

Dealers  in  second-hand  clothing,  jewelry  and  junk 
sometimes  purchase  stolen  goods  knowingly,  yet  keep 
within  the  law.  They  must  not  buy  from  a  minor,  an 
apprentice  or  one  whom  they  know  to  be  a  servant. 
They  must  not  buy  between  sunset  and  7  A.  and  they 
must  enter  in  a  book  a  description  of  tlie  article,  the  time 
of  the  purchase  and  the  name  and  address  of  the  seller. 

If  anything  they  purchase  answers  to  the  description 
of  an  article  advertised  as  lost  or  stolen,  they  must  notify 
the  police. 

These  are  the  principal  regulations  governing  their 
business.  They  are  permitted  to  sell  an  article  as  soon 
as  they  purchase  it,  and  this  always  happens  when  they 
purchase  doubtful  goods.  They  need  make  no  entry  of 
the  sale  and  it  is  impossible  to  trace  an  article  after  it 
leaves  their  hands.  Professional  thieves  do  not  patronize 
second-hand  clothing  or  jewelry  dealers,  as  the  dealers 
will  betray  them  to  save  the  license  on  which  their  busi- 
ness depends. 

The  only  stuff  that  the  thief  must  dispose  of  directly 
to  the  dealer  is  junk.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  half  the 
lead  pipe,  door  knobs,  window  weights,  copper  kettles. 


118  THE  WRETCHES 

etc.,  received  by  the  small  jnnk  dealers,  are  the  proceeds 
of  thefts  too  insignificant  to  be  reported  to  the  police. 
They  are,  therefore,  comparatively  free  from  interfer- 
ence in  their  business. 

The  most  serious  feature  of  this  is  that  junk  stealing 
is  too  small  and  unprofitable  to  be  taken  up  by  men,  and 
boys  are  easily  encouraged  to  take  lead  pipe,  brass  door 
knobs,  and  other  metals  from  vacant  houses  and  their 
own  homes,  to  be  sold  to  the  junk  dealers  for  a  few  cents. 

While  much  stolen  property  sooner  or  later  finds  its 
way  into  second-hand  jewelry  stores  and  pawnbrokers' 
sales  stores,  the  dealers  do  .  not  purchase  such  articles 
from  the  thieves.  The  fence  is  the  go-between.  The 
receivers  of  the  stolen  property  are  the  prime  tempters 
of  the  thieves. 

The  parasites,  those  who  grow  rich  from  the  proceeds 
of  the  booty  and  vice,  are  the  gambling-house  keepers, 
the  dive  keepers,  Raines  Law  hotel  keepers,  the  "mad- 
ams" who  run  "ladies'  boarding  houses,"  and  the 
wretches  who  sell  their  favors  on  their  own  account. 

The  criminals  spend  their  money  chiefly  in  gambling 
houses  and  upon  their  female  companions.  "Easy  come, 
easy  go." 

Some  of  the  gambling  houses  are  run  by  ex-convicts 
who  have  retired  from  more  hazardous  occupations  after 
having  made  a  rich  haul.  Those  in  Povertyville  are  run 
in  the  name  of  a  club,  or  by  a  sporting  character. 


THE  WRETCHES 


119 


Rumor  says  they  are  controlled  by  a  member  of  a 
well-known  family  of  East  Side  politicians,  but  it  is  im- 
possible to  prove  this  connection.  Hearsay  is  not  legal 
proof. 

The  managers  of  the  gambling  houses  are  ordinary 
small  sports  who  pose  as  owners  in  an  emergency. 

During  a  reform  administration,  and  when  they  are 
under  police  surveillance,  the  gambling  house  is  run  as  a 
club  and  none  are  admitted  who  are  not  known  by  the 
manager  or  vouched  for  by  a  reliable  habitue.  At  such 
a  time  the  game  is  honestly  conducted,  as  the  frequenters 
are  without  exception  skilled  gamblers.  When  the  town 
is  run  open  and  there  is  no  police  interference,  strangers 
are  admitted  and  marked  cards,  loaded  dice,  crooked  faro 
boxes  and  roulettes,  sleight-of-hand  tricks  in  shuffling 
and  dealing — all  are  used  to  enrich  the  gambler  and  cheat 
the  novice. 

Most  dive  keepers  start  out  as  waiters  or  bartenders. 

A  few  began  in  ordinary  saloons ;  most,  however,  were 
first  waiters  in  dives,  then  head  waiters,  and  afterwards 
managers.  A  few  dive  keepers  began  by  opening  saloons 
on  or  near  the  Bowery  with  the  firm  intention  to  keep 
their  places  clean  and  orderly. 

It  is  impossible  to  conduct  a  new  saloon  profitably 
on  the  Bowery  on  bar  patronage  alone,  unless  some  spe- 
cial inducement  is  offered.  Even  an  extra  large  glass  or 
a  free  lunch  no  longer  attracts.  When  the  saloon  keeper 
finds  that  he  cannot  run  a  respectable  saloon  profitably 


120 


THE    W  RETCII  RS 


while  his  neighbors  make  money  through  well-patronized 
back  rooms,  he  will  either  follow  suit  or  go  out  of  busi- 
ness. 

If  he  has  a  reputation  to  uphold,  he  may  give  the  place 
a  fanciful  name,  secure  a  new  license  under  an  assumed 
name,  or  in  the  name  of  his  manager,  partition  ofif  the 
rear  part  of  the  saloon, .put  in  a  number  of  chairs  and 
tables,  and  the  place  is  now  a  dive. 

The  owner  of  one  such  place,  recently  closed,  opened 
it  is  a  clean,  orderly  saloon.  By  discouraging  toughs  and 
disreputable  characters  his  place  became  known  as  a 
respectable  saloon  with  a  good  class  of  patrons.  But 
there  was  not  enough  of  this  to  make  the  place  pay,  and 
he  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  The  place  was  closed, 
and  opened  a  few  days  later  under  a  new  management. 
It  received  a  distinctive  title,  a  new  license  was  secured 
under  an  assumed  name,  a  large  back  room  was  formed 
by  a  partition  placed  at  the  end  of  the  bar,  and  a  man- 
ager was  hired.  This  manager  was  a  well-known  dive 
keeper  and  his  reputation  soon  brought  all  the  wretches 
of  Povertyville  to  the  place.  Many  of  the  latter  had 
known  the  manager  in  his  earlier  days  in  the  Tender- 
loin. The  place  prospered,  the  real  owner  opened  a  good 
hotel  in  a  nearby  seaside  resort,  under  his  own  name,  and 
he  is  there  a  respected  citizen.  A  brewing  company 
aided  him  in  the  conversion  of  his  saloon  into  a  dive. 

A  few  dive  keepers  are  boxers  or  otherwise  connected 
with  sporting  afifairs.    Their  resorts  are  usually  opened 


THE  WRETCHES 


121 


and  owned  by  a  brewer,  who  pays  the  manager  a  salary 
and  commission  on  sales,  for  the  use  of  his  name  and 
services.  These  consist  in  standing  before  or  behind  the 
bar,  drinking  with  any  one  who  wants  to  treat,  and  as- 
suming the  responsibility  of  ownership.  He  rarely  visits 
the  back  room,  but  turns  the  management  of  that  part 
of  the  business  over  to  the  head  waiter.  Sporting  men 
are  notorious  spendthrifts,  and  the  reputed  owners  or 
keepers,  of  these  dives  are  no  exceptions  to  the  rule. 
They  are  discriminating  in  their  charities,  however,  and 
never  aid  the  panders  and  other  wretches  who  enrich 
them.  The  unfortunate  fellow  who  does  not  drink,  the 
broken-down,  old-time  sport,  and  the  Salvation  Army  las- 
sie never  go  away  empty-handed. 

Far  different  is  the  dive  keeper  who  rose  from  the 
ranks  of  waiters  and  bartenders. 

He  is  heartless  and  conscienceless,  trusts  none  and  is 
trusted  by  none,  his  every  action  being  governed  by  the 
question  of  what  will,  the  immediate  profit  be?  He  does 
not  figure  upon  future  returns,  as  he  is  well  aware  that 
the  police  lightning  might  strike  him  at  any  moment. 

He  is  usually  found  seated  near  the  door  of  his  back 
room,  where  he  can  overlook  the  place  and  from  which 
he  can  make  a  hasty  exit  when  necessary. 

Strangers,  unless  partly  intoxicated,  are  distrusted 
and  made  uncomfortable  by  waiters  and  bouncers.  A 
visitor  seen  taking  notes  is  unceremoniously  thrown  out. 


122 


T II 11    ir  RETCHES 


The  stranger  who  is  intoxicated  is  conducted  to  a 
tahle  where  several  women  are  seated.  While  he  spends 
his  money  for  drinks  he  is  not  molested,  but  when  his 
money  is  gone,  he  is  carried  or  thrown  out.  If  he  ap- 
pears to  have  valuables  about  him,  one  of  the  women  sits 
on  his  lap,  engages  him  in  lewd  conversation,  at  the  same 
time  removing  the  contents  of  his  pockets,  the  booty  be- 
ing passed  to  her  lover  behind  her.  The  dive  keeper  re- 
ceives a  share  of  this  later. 

One  well-known  dive  keeper  to  whose  place  reference 
has  been  made,  w^ould  permit  no  robbery  in  his  dive.  This 
man  w^as  the  most  notorious  of  his  class,  yet  there  was 
nothing  in  his  personality,  manners,  dress  or  speech 
w^hich  would  lead  one  to  suspect  his  vocation. 

Outside  of  his  resort  he  could  pass  as  a  retired  mer- 
chant. While  he  could  be  as  foul  as  the  foulest  of  his 
customers,  with  gentlemanly  strangers  he  was  courteous, 
quiet,  never  coarse  or  vulgar.  They  say  he  has  retired 
from  business,  but  those  who  say  they  know,  claim  he 
still  owns  two  Bowery  resorts,  one  a  Raines  Law  hotel 
run  by  his  son,  another  a  sporting  resort,  run  by  his 
former  bouncer,  a  well-known  pugilist. 

Among  the  Raines  Law^  hotel  owners  there  are  many 
respectable  saloon  keepers  who  have  been  forced  to  em- 
ploy the  hotel  subterfuge  in  order  to  sell  beer  and  liquor 
on  Sunday.  At  the  same  time  this  law  furnishes  a  loop- 
hole whereby  disreputable  resorts  are  legalized,  and  as 
the  New  York  district  attorney  stated  before  the  State 


THE  WRETCHES 


123 


legislature  in  February,  1903,  out  of  the  2,500  places 
licensed  in  the  city  under  that  law,  less  than  200  were 
honest  and  respectable  hotels.  The  ''Committee  of  Four- 
teen," organized  to  wipe  out  the  vicious  resorts  opened 
under  this  law,  has  reduced  the  number  of  Raines  Law 
hotels  to  800. 

This  vicious  makeshift  of  a  law  has  done  away  with 
the  furnished  room  houses  where  rooms  could  be  hired 
by  couples  by  the  hour.  Such  houses  were  found  in  a 
few  localities  where  the  women  congregated.  There  was 
nothing  to  indicate  their  character  to  passersby,  and 
there  was  no  such  notoriety  attached  to  them  as  is  now 
attached  to  even  the  respectable  Raines  Law  hotel. 

This  law,  since  amended,  has  scattered  nearly  1,000 
such  houses  all  over  the  city;  it  has  made  a  saloon  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  them ;  it  has  given  the  saloon  keeper 
who  could  stand  the  necessary  expense  a  means  to  violate 
the  spirit  of  the  excise  laws,  and  it  has  given  the  char- 
acter of  the  Raines  Law  hotel  a  publicity  and  a  notoriety 
which  is  a  disgrace  to  the  city. 

An  unfortunate  feature  in  connection  with  this  law 
is,  it  has  produced  a  moral  turpitude  or  degeneration  in 
hundreds  of  saloon-keepers  who  formerly  abhorred  the 
bare  idea  of  harboring  a  dissolute  person. 

After  the  Raines  Law  was  passed  these  men  found 
that  they  could  not  conduct  their  business  profitably  with- 


124 


THE  WRETCHES 


out  adding  the  ten  rooms  necessary  to  procure  a  hotel 
license.*  Then,  to  make  the  hotel  profitable,  they  were 
obliged  to  admit  these  wretches. 

Those  Raines  Law  hotels  which  were  opened  to  take 
the  place  of  the  furnished  room  liouses  are  conducted  by 
dive  keepers  or  managed  by  men  accustomed  to  handle 
dive  habitues. 

Far  more  profitable  than  either  the  furnished  room 
house  or  the  Raines  Law  hotel  is  the  ordinary  brothel,  or 
"Ladies'  Boarding  House,"  as  the  cards  of  one  of  them 
announce. 

These  are  usually  conducted  by  a  woman  who  was 
economical  while  on  the  street  and  has  an  energetic  lover, 
or  ''husband." 

A  description  of  "Mrs.  Schneider,"  who  conducted  a 
resort  of  this  kind  for  years  near  the  Bowery,  will  illus- 
trate the  general  characteristics  of  these  wretches. 

This  woman  had  been  on  the  street  for  a  few  years, 
was  careful  of  her  health,  drank  little,  and  was  saving. 

At  first  she  had  a  furnished  room,  and  by  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  housekeeper,  her  patrons  were  obliged  to 
hire  the  room  whenever  they  accompanied  her  to  it. 
Later  she  kept  a  furnishd  room  house,  which  she  soon 
converted  into  a  ladies'  boarding  house.  A  burly  fellow, 
picked  up  in  a  dive,  posed  as  Mr.  Schneider,  her  pro- 
tector, bouncer  and  man  of  all  work.  Material  for  her 
establishment  was  plentiful.  In  the  beginning  she  took 
city  and  country  girls  who  were  cast  adrift  by  false 


THE    WRETCHES  125 

lovers,  helped  them  out  of  their  difficuUies  and  gave 
them  a  home.  When  the  supply  of  these  no  longer  met  the 
demands  of  her  patrons,  procuresses  sent  girls  to  her  from 
abroad.  She  took  excellent  care  of  the  wretches  in  her 
house,  for  upon  their  health  and  beauty  depended  her 
livelihood.  She  knew  what  would  make  a  lean  girl 
plump  and  what  would  reduce  the  obese,  and  regulated 
their  diet  accordingly.  A  physician  called  weekly  and 
certified  to  their  freedom  from  disease.  When  one  be- 
came too  ill  to  receive  visitors,  she  could  not  receive  an- 
other morsel  of  food  until  she  had  recovered.  The  girl 
was  then  taken  to  the  door  of  the  hospital  and  left  there. 

The  girls  in  the  house  were  forcibly  detained,  being 
deprived  of  their  clothes,  except  a  low-necked,  short- 
skirted  Mother  Hubbard  gown,  the  usual  reception  dress. 
When  a  girl  became  obstreperous  she  was  starved  into 
submission. 

Mrs.  Schneider  charged  the  girls  for  board  and  med- 
ical services,  and  allowed  them  a  small  part  of  their  earn- 
ings from  visitors,  so  little,  however,  that  a  girl  seldom 
got  out  of  debt.  When  a  girl  became  "old  stock"  she 
was  turned  out  of  the  house,  or,  if  still  attractive,  she 
was  traded  or  sold  to  another  establishment. 

The  girls  rarely  gave  trouble,  as  they  led  an  indolent, 
quiet  life,  free  from  care,  thoughtless  of  the  future. 

J\lrs.  Schneider  was  a  shrewd  judge  of  human  na- 
ture, could  be  refined  or  vulgar  as  would  best  suit  her 
patrons,  fearless,  without  conscience  or  heart,  and  with- 


126 


THE    IV  Rli  TC  11  lis 


out  womanly  instincts.  She  paid  liberally  for  protection, 
owed  nobody  (in  fact,  nobody  trusted  her),  and  her 
every  act  was  governed  by  mercenary  motives. 

She  became  wealthy  and,  after  her  place  was  raided, 
she  was  arrested,  forfeited  her  bail,  and  left  her  girls  in 
the  hands  of  the  police.    She  was  typical  of  her  class. 

Women  running  establishments  which  are  liable  to  be 
closed  at  any  moment  rent  the  house  and  furniture  and 
invest  their  money  in  jewelry  which  can  be  readily  con- 
verted into  cash.  They  are  always  ready  for  flight,  and 
when  such  a  course  is  necessary  they  leave  little  of  value 
behind. 

Besides  the  regular  source  of  income  from  the  girls, 
a  considerable  profit  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  liquors 
without  a  license,  but  a  more  profitable  source  of  income 
is  the  rental  of  girls  for  special  occasions.  A  person 
known  to  the  madam  can  hire  a  girl  for  a  day  or  a  night 
as  companion  at  a  social  afifair.  The  charge  for  the  girl 
is  generally  five  dollars  a  day,  and  from  one  to  fifty  dol- 
lars for  the  clothing  and  jewelry  she  is  to  wear. 

The  procuress  is  usually  an  old  "madam"  who  is 
familiar  with  the  girls  kept  in  the  different  establishments 
and  in  foreign  resorts.  There  was  until  recently  in  a 
suburb  of  Hamburg  an  exchange  for  girls  intended  for 
brothels.  Here  the  procuress  would  go  annually  and 
pick  out  her  stock.  Just  as  in  the  slave  trade  of  ante- 
bellum days,  so  the  girls  were  obliged  to  pass  muster, 
the  trader  in  women's  flesh  and  virtue  examining  the  girled 


THE  WRETCHES 


127 


as  the  old  slavers  did  the  slaves.  Face,  form,  texture, 
mentality,  all  were  examined  and,  if  found  satisfactory, 
the  girls  came  to  New  York  as  daughters  or  servants  of 
the  procuress.  The  immigration  laws  are  stopping-  this 
traffic,  but  some  girls  still  come  in  consigned  to  "aunts," 
who  sell  them  to  brothels. 

Male  procurers,  or  ''cadets,"  have  taken  up  this  in- 
famous trade  during  the  last  five  years.  They  do  not 
look  for  dissolute  women,  but  try  to  induce  respectable 
girls  to  take  up  shameful  lives  or  inveigle  them  into  dis- 
reputable houses.  They  will  not  hesitate  to  marry  a  girl 
or  use  force  to  carry  out  their  purpose,  and  one  who  is 
now  in  prison  is  said  to  have  married  six  victims,  deliver- 
ing each  one  afterwards  into  a  brothel.  The  severe  pun- 
ishment inflicted  upon  these  wretches  has  had  a  deter- 
rent effect  upon  their  trade. 


CHAPTER  III 


FACTORS  DEVELOPING  WRETCHES. 

XT  AriOXALITY,  race  and  religion  are  appreciable  fac- 
^  tors  in  directing  the  trend  of  the  vicious.  A'ice  and 
crime  are  not  bound  by  nationality  or  creed,  but  some 
forms  of  vice  and  crime  are  more  prevalent  in  some  na- 
tionalities and  races  than  in  others.  Thus,  one  rarely  sees 
a  Jewish  beggar,  while  German  beggars  are  quite  common. 
When  counterfeit  coin  appears  in  a  neighborhood  the  gov- 
ernment officials  look  through  the  nearest  Italian  quarter 
for  the  counterfeiters.  One  rarely  sees  an  Italian  beggar 
or  drunkard,  and  there  are  few  confirmed  criminals 
among  them.  Their  crimes  are  generally  assault  in  some 
form,  due  to  passion  or  revenge.  The  Americans  and 
the  Irish  are  more  daring  than  others,  and  they  will  in- 
cur greater  risks. 

Nearly  all  the  more  desperate  criminals,  those  who 
undertake  large  jobs,  like  burglary,  belong  to  one  of  these 
two  nationalities.  Gambling  proclivities  are  most  pro- 
nounced in  the  American^,  and  they  run  the  gambling 
houses  and  pool-rooms.  Gambling  is  also  prevalent 
among  Hungarians,  who  play  in  the. coffee  saloons  along 
lower  Second  Avenue  and  in  the  side  streets,  and  among 


THE  WRETCHES 


129 


tlic  Italians,  who  play  in  saloons  in  "Little  Italy,"  as  the 
district  around  and  to  the  north  of  Mulberry  Bend  Park 
is  called. 

The  Jew  will  not  run  any  risk  whereby  his  life  might 
be  endangered.  He  will,  therefore,  not  undertake  the 
more  dangerous  work  of  the  house-breaker  or  thief ; 
neither  will  he  handle  the  rough  customers  found  in  the 
dives.  This  work  is  left  to  the  Irish  waiters  and  bouncers 
and  these  become  later  the  dive-keepers.  The  concert 
halls,  however,  are  generally  conducted  by  Jews.  The 
fence  is  generally  an  American  Jew,  and  to  this  race  be- 
long nearly  all  those  in  whose  business  dickering  and 
trading  is  possible.  There  are  comparatively  few  Ger- 
mans among  the  wretches,  and  these  have  no  special 
vicious  trend.  While  there  are  many  German  prostitutes, 
the  men  lack  the  daring  necessary  to  become  great  or 
dangerous  criminals,  neither  have  they  the  acumen  to  be- 
come successful  competitors  in  the  lines  followed  by  the 
Jews.  We  rarely  hear  of  a  German  burglar  or  highway- 
man, and  seldom  of  a  German  dive-keeper  or  gambling- 
house  keeper.  More  often  we  find  German  waiters  in 
vicious  concert  halls ;  sometimes  they  keep  brothels,  some 
live  by  craft  or  fraud,  many  are  beggars. 

In  considering  race  and  religion  as  factors  in  relation 
to  crime  and  vice  we  must  not  forget  composite  tenden- 
cies, hereditary  and  accjuired,  in  wretches  of  foreign  birth. 
As  an  example  we  find  the  Jew  with  his  inherent  com- 
mercial capacity,  and  the  natural  characteristics  of  the 


« 


130  THE  WRETCHES 

land  of  his  birth.  To  these  are  added  the  new  tastes, 
desires,  methods,  etc.,  acquired  here.  With  the  exception 
of  the  commercial  instinct  which  persists,  his  character 
is  moulded  by  environment  and  association,  and,  being 
naturally  of  a  plastic  disposition,  he  is  led  into  a  virtuous 
or  vicious  direction  without  much  difficulty.  At  the*same 
time,  lacking  that  physical  daring  which  we  term  bravado, 
he  will  not  follow  in  ways  where  such  daring  is  required. 
He  will  not  fight  and  will  keep  away  from  occupations  in 
which  brawls  may  be  expected.  If  he  is  a  Hungarian  he 
will  probably  follow  the  national  trend  of  gambling,  and 
run  a  cofifee  saloon,  where  gambling  is  the  principal  fea- 
ure.  The  Russian  Jew  will  prefer  an  occupation  where 
trading  is  possible,  preferably  the  sale  of  second-hand 
goods.  The  German  Jew  has  no  prominent  national  char- 
acteristics, and  more  readily  adopts  the  characteristics  of 
the  American.  H  viciously  inclined  he  will  follow  any 
line  where  his  hereditary  business  instinct  can  combine 
with  a  vicious  career.  He  will  run  a  concert  hall,  or 
brothel,  or  become  a  fence.  In  the  American  Jew  the 
national  characteristics  predominate  over  the  racial  in- 
stinct. He  possesses  more  courage  than  the  foreigner, 
loves  to  gamble,  and  lacks  to  a  great  extent  that  religi- 
ous feeling  which  acts  upon  the  foreign-born  Jew  as  a 
restraint  to  viciousness.  If  viciously  inclined  he  will  be- 
come either  a  crooked  sport  or  a  fence.  Some  who  are 
taught  to  become  sneak  thieves  and  pickpockets  when 
young  develop  into  shoplifters  and  thieves.    The  Ameri- 


THE  WRETCHES 


131 


cans  possess  courage,  shrewdness,  and  a  speculative  in- 
stinct, and  they  follow  lines  where  these  characteristics 
are  brought  into  play.  If  they  take  up  a  vicious  career 
they  undertake  the  more  daring  crimes,  like  housebreak- 
ing and  street  robbery,  or  fraud  where  craft  or  finesse 
are  required,  or  they  are  gamblers  and  sports,  taking 
greater  risks  than  any  other  nationality.  The  Irish  pos- 
sess the  same  kind  of  courage  as  the  Americans,  are  more 
tenacious  of  purpose,  are  as  a  rule  physically  stronger, 
but  lack  the  shrewdness,  or  rather  the  craft,  of  the 
Americans,  nor  is  the  speculative  or  gambling  instinct 
greatly  developed.  They  therefore  take  up  those  lines 
where  their  qualities  are  most  useful,  as  waiters,  boun- 
cers, dive  keepers,  saloon  keepers,  keepers  of  Raines  Law 
hotels,  and  perpetrators  of  crimes  of  violence.  We  can 
in  the  same  way  trace  the  influence  of  race,  religion  and 
nationality  upon  the  form  of  crime  and  vice  throughout 
all  the  nationalities  which  make  up  the  wretches  of  Pov- 
ertyville. 

We  find  the  same  factors  at  work  among  the  female 
wretches  of  Povertyville. 

All  races  and  nationalities  are  found  among  the 
women  of  the  street,  but  great  changes  have  occurred  in 
this  respect  in  the  last  thirty  years.  In  the  seventies  a 
Jewish  prostitute  was  a  rarity,  now  there  are  many.  This 
is  mainly  due  to  economic  conditions  and  to  the  fact  that 
women  are  now  thrown  into  more  intimate  contact  with 
men  since  they  take  up  occupations  which  bring  this 


132 


THE  WRETCHES 


about.  Formerly,  when  procuresses  came  from  Europe 
weekly  with  scores  of  German  women  for  brothels,  there 
were  more  of  this  nationality  than  at  present.  The  num- 
ber of  Irish  girls  on  the  street  has  increased  enormously. 
In  the  seventies  the  brothels  held  mainly  German  and 
American  girls,  with  some  Irish  and  a  few  French  girls. 
Now  the  Irish  and  Americans  are  far  in  the  majority, 
there  arc  still  many  Germans,  and  some  Jewish  girls, 
while  the  French  have  almost  disappeared  from  Poverty- 
ville.  In  the  foreign  colonies  there  are  brothels  having 
women  of  the  nationality  of  the  colony,  and  near  the 
water  front  there  are  some  having  Scandinavian  women 
for  the  sailors  of  those  countries. 

The  Irish  and  the  American  women  associate  with 
the  more  daring  of  the  men,  and  manv  become  shoplift- 
ers. The  German  women  prefer  to  keep  brothels,  while 
Jewish  women,  true  to  their  trading  instincts,  become,  in 
time,  procuresses. 

Little  need  be  said  of  other  nationalities,  as  there  are 
few  other  nationalities  except  Italians  represented  among 
the  wretches  of  Povertyville.  The  Italians  have  vices 
as  glaring  as  the  others,  but,  being  clannish,  their  vices 
are  not  on  public  exhibition.  The  vicious  Italian  woman 
does  not  walk  the  streets,  but  receives  her  patron  in  her 
home.  Gambling  is  carried  on  in  homes  and  in  saloons 
which  are  patronized  by  Italians  alone.  Other  forms  of 
depravity  are  confined  to  the  home  or  the  saloon,  and  are 
not  exposed  to  the  stranger.    There  are  few  criminals 


THE  WRETCHES 


133 


among  Italians,  the  majority  of  crimes  being  acts  of  vio- 
lence in  passion  or  revenge,  and  their  own  country  people 
are  usually  the  victims.  The  only  other  crimes  with  which 
they  are  often  charged  are  the  manufacture  and  passing 
of  counterfeit  coin,  an  occupation  that  the  counterfeiters 
bring  with  them  from  Italy.  The  French  have  almost  en- 
tirely disappeared  from  Povertyville,  and  there  are  now 
no  brothels  of  the  kind  prevalent  in  the  seventies,  when 
French  madams  introduced  new  forms  of  vice  and  bes- 
tiality in  the  district.  The  old  French  quarter  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bleecker  Street  and  West  Broadway 
still  harbors  a  few  of  the  wretches  of  that  nationality, 
but  these  are  rarely  seen  on  the  Bowery.  When  a  vicious 
Frenchman  does  find  his  way  into  the  Bowery  district 
it  is  to  become  a  waiter  in  a  concert  hall. 

\\'hile  there  is  generally  some  modesty  among  the 
female  wretches  of  other  nationalities  this  trait  seems  to 
be  lacking  in  the  French  cocotte.  She  will  give  bestial 
exhibitions  which  are  repulsive  to  other  lewd  women,  will 
appear  nude  without  the  slightest  hesitancy  if  she  receives 
her  price,  exhibiting  chic  and  coquetry,  but  not  a  trace  of 
modesty.  Her  charms  and  abandon  secure  for  her  a 
place  in  fashionable  brothels,  and  she  need  not  go  to 
Povertyville  for  admirers.  ^Many  work  on  their  own  ac- 
count, and  being  economical,  they  save  enough  in  a  few 
years  to  return  to  France  and  there  lead  a  respectable  life. 
These  are  found  in  the  Tenderloin  since  French  brothels 
have  left  Povertyville. 


134 


THE  WRETCHES 


Tlicre  are  many  lewd  women  of  the  Slavonic  race : 
Hungarians,  Bohemians  and  Russians,  among  the  wretches 
of  rovert}-ville.  Some  of  them  have  been  brought  over 
for  brothel  purposes,  some  were  sent  here  by  false  lovers, 
who  promised  to  follow  but  failed  to  do  so;  some  were 
lured  over  under  promise  of  good  paying  positions.  While 
there  is  much  immorality  among  the  Slavs,  few  of  the 
women  take  up  vicious  careers  after  they  have  been  en- 
gaged here  in  honest  vocations.  Those  that  do  so  remain 
in  their  national  colony,  and  are  rarely  found  soliciting  on 
the  street  or  in  public  dives.  Most  of  these  foreigners  go 
to  brothels  and  remain  there  until  they  have  learned  the 
English  language,  then  they  go  out  to  dives  or  are  sent 
fo  other  brothels. 

The  prevailing  vices  among  the  Chinamen  are  opium 
smoking  and  gambling.  In  sensual  vices  they  do  not  dif- 
fer from  the  whites,  but  they  seem  to  prefer  to  consort 
with  white  women,  and  there  are  many  white  women  in 
Chinatown  who  have  become  opium  fiends,  and  w^ill  con- 
sort with  the  Mongolians  for  a  thimbleful  of  the  drug. 

The  vices  of  the  northern  Negro  are  not  due  to  in- 
herent depravity,  but  to  ignorance  and  a  lower  standard 
of  morality.  Sensuality  and  gambling  are  common  vices. 
Their  crimes  are  mainly  petty  thefts,  rarely  associated 
with  violence.  The  so-called  ''bad  nigger,"  the  one  who 
carries  a  razor,  is  simply  a  bully  among  his  own  people, 
just  like  the  bad  white  man  who  carries  a  pistol  is  a  bully 
among  his  class.    The  southern  Negro  whose  notorious 


THE  WRETCHES 


135 


crimes,  rape  and  assault  upon  white  women,  are  so  often 
summarily  punished,  does  not  come  north.  The  indig- 
enous Negro  is  a  different  specimen  of  humanity,  has 
different  tastes  and  traits,  and  prefers  to  associate  with 
lewd  women  of  his  own  race. 

Beside  race  and  nationality  the  factor  of  occupation 
plays  a  part  in  the  trend  toward  vice  and  crime,  and  the 
conversion  of  respectable  men  and  women  into  wretches. 
The  first  contact  of  a  person  of  refinement  and  decency 
with  the  coarse  tough  or  vile  woman  of  the  street  excites 
disgust.  Thrown  constantly  in  contact  with  the  wretches, 
especially  if  one  derives  his  livelihood  from  them,  a  man 
takes  a  more  liberal  view  of  their  mode  of  life,  extenu- 
ates, excuses  and  finally  justifies  and  upholds  their  faults. 
In  some  occupations  men  are  constantly  exposed  to  vi- 
cious influences,  and  sooner  or  later  succumb  to  them. 
This  is  especially  true  of  night  bartenders  and  waiters, 
men  in  the  show  business,  especially  in  the  small  travel- 
ing companies ;  men  selling  plated  jewelry,  etc.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  nearly  every  dive  keeper  in  New  York  was  at 
one  time  a  waiter  or  bartender  in  a  respectable  saloon. 
From  the  respectable  saloon  he  goes  to  a  tough  saloon 
or  dive,  becomes  head  waiter,  manager,  and  afterwards 
owner.  Or  he  may  have  opened  a  decent  saloon,  per- 
mitted the  vicious  to  congregate  there,  and  these  finally 
drove  out  the  better  class  of  patrons.  Bartenders  are 
often  asked  to  take  some  article  of  jewelry  as  a  pledge 
from  a  patron  who  has  run  short  of  funds.  Sometimes 


136 


THE    IV  RETCHES 


the  pledge  is  redeemed ;  frequently,  however,  it  is  the 
proceeds  of  a  robbery,  and  the  pledger,  if  he  does  return, 
will  tell  the  bartender  to  dispose  of  it.  In  this  way  the 
bartender  becomes  a  fence.  When  the  high  license  and 
Raines  Law  went  into  effect  many  good  saloon  keepers 
found  their  Sunday  trade  cut  off,  and  secured  hotel 
licenses.  To  make  the  hotel  adjunct  of  ten  bedrooms 
pay,  the  rooms  were  let  out  to  couples,  and  the  saloon 
keeper  became  a  keeper  of  a  Raines  Law  hotel,  or  virtu- 
ally a  brothel  keeper.  ]\Iost  gambling  house  managers 
and  keepers  began  their  sporting  careers  behind  the  bar 
of  a  saloon. 

^len  in  the  theatrical  business  are  exposed  to  tempta- 
tions from  within  the  company  and  from  without.  In  the 
small  traveling  companies,  more  particularly  in  the  bur- 
lesque companies  which  carry  from  six  to  ten  men  and 
from  ten  to  fifteen  women,  few  are  married.  Traveling 
together  for  months,  stopping  at  the  same  hotels  and 
boarding  houses,  indiscriminate  intercourse  is  frequent. 
This  lowers  their  respect  for  woman's  honor.  Everywhere 
on  the  road  the  actor  receives  letters  from  foolish  women 
who  would  submit  to  his  desires  for  the  honor  of  talking 
to  an  actor  and  perhaps  getting  a  free  pass,  and  this  fur- 
ther lowers  his  respect  for  all  women.  His  principal 
pastimes  are  gambling  and  drinking  and  entertaining  jolly 
companions.  The  small  fry  in  the  theatrical  profession, 
if  they  marry  at  all,  select  their  partners  from  the  profes- 
sional ranks.    The  others  break  down  in  time  through 


THE  WRETCHES 


137 


their  excesses,  many  take  up  opium  smoking  and  some 
become  sports  and  gamblers.  When  they  reach  Pover- 
tyville  they  arc  either  broken-down  sports,  sots  or  pipe 
or  cocaine  fiends. 

]\Ien  deaHng  in  imitation  jewelry  find  the  wretches 
of  Povertyville  good  customers.  The  wretches  make 
money  easily  and  spend  it  readily  for  baubles.  One  may 
steal  a  watch  worth  fifty  dollars,  sell  it  to  a  fence  for 
five  dollars  and  pay  the  five  for  a  plated  watch  worth  two 
dollars  and  believe  he  has  the  best  of  the  bargain.  Or 
he  may  trade  the  stolen  watch  for  a  Rhinestone  plated 
ring  worth  fifty  cents,  knowing  that  the  dealer  has  only 
imitation  jewelry,  yet  hoping  that  the  dealer  has  made  a 
mistake.  The  dealer,  finding  it  so  easy  to  dupe  these 
people,  tries  the  same  game  with  others  and  later 
branches  out  in  other  lines  of  fraud.  It  has  been  repeat- 
edly charged  that  the  police  are  in  collusion  with  the 
criminals  and  protect  them.  It  is  impossible  to  get  to- 
gether in  any  vocation  a  body  of  7,000  men  without 
finding  some  scamps  among  them ;  but  to  charge  the 
body  for  the  faults  of  a  few  is  certainly  a  gross  injustice 
to  the  whole.  It  is  true  that  some  men  having  political 
influence  follow  unlawful  occupations  without  police 
interference  and  that  police  officers  who  w^re  supposed 
to  devote  their  whole  time  and  attention  to  the  business 
of  the  department  have  been  able  to  accumulate  many 
times  the  amount  of  their  salary.  The  deplorable  con- 
ditions existing  before  the  Lexow  investigation  do  not 


138  TIIR  WRETCHES 

prevail  to-day,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  police  arc  not 
the  associates  of  the  wretches,  though  they  may  overlook 
the  infraction  of  excise  laws  and  to  some  extent  the  laws 
against  gambling  and  soliciting. 

There  are  some  pursuits  in  which  those  who  follow 
them  are  constantly  exposed  to  temptation.  The  junk 
dealer  is  importuned  by  boys  to  buy  old  brass,  copper  and 
lead.  After  he  has  made  a  few  such  purchases,  paying 
cents  for  what  he  will  receive  dollars  in  return,  and  finds 
that  there  is  little  risk  in  detection,  he  will  induce  the  boys 
to  bring  more  stuff  and  may  even  tell  the  boys  how  to 
cut  lead  and  pull  out  brass  door  knobs.  The  dealer  in 
old  clothing  is  likewise  tempted  to  purchase  stolen  wear- 
ing apparel.  The  pawnbroker  cannot  ask  a  person  who 
offers  a  pledge  to  prove  his  identity  and  will  take  a  pledge 
which  he  may  have  reason  to  suspect  has  been  stolen. 

We  can  also  include  among  those  who  are  exposed 
and  sometimes  succumb  to  temptation,  the  druggists. 
They  are  asked  to  supply  "hop,"  the  opium  extract  used 
by  smokers,  and  other  morphine  and  opium  preparations, 
knockout  drops,  cocaine,  appliances  and  drugs  used  for 
immoral  purposes.  Physicians  who  make  a  specialty  of 
criminal  operations  are  withal  criminals,  while  those  who 
examine  the  inmates  of  brothels  are  often  asked  to  help 
unfortunate  girls  out  of  their  difficulties  and  rarely  re- 
fuse. Some  lawyers  who  make  a  specialty  of  criminal 
cases  associate  with  the  criminals  and  vicious  and  advise 
them  how  to  circumvent  the  law.    There  is  a  wide  span 


THE    WRETCHES  139 

between  the  extremes  of  legal  and  moral  honesty,  which 
some  lawyers  attempt  to  bridge  by  craft  instead  of  con- 
science. 

Among  women  occupation  is  a  more  important  factor 
in  the  development  of  wretches  than  among  men.  In 
some  lines  of  work  so  many  fall  that  a  stigma  has  been 
cast  upon  the  occupation  affecting  the  good  name  of  all 
following  it.  There  are  hundreds  of  good,  honest,  vir- 
tuous chorus  girls,  even  among  the  cheap  burlesque  com- 
panies. Yet  chorus  girls  are  exposed  to  so  many  tempta- 
tions in  the  company  and  from  without,  and  so  many  suc- 
cumb to  temptation  that  more  than  a  shade  of  suspicion 
rests  upon  all.  Some  withstand  every  temptation  until 
they  find  that  there  is  an  imputation  of  doubt  in  the  re- 
spectability of  chorus  girls  as  a  class.  Then,  falling  back 
upon  the  saying,  "If  I  have  the  name  I'll  have  the  game," 
they  submit.  Some  are  initiated  by  other  girls  of  the 
company,  who  find  delight  in  destroying  the  virtue  of 
innocent  girls.  This  is  a  common  trait  among  vicious 
women.  While  the  male  wretches  will  not  intentionally 
corrupt  men  or  boys  who  are  good,  the  female  wretches 
make  efforts  to  drag  others  down  to  their  level.  The 
innocent  chorus  girl  receives  flattering  invitations  from 
men,  sees  wdth  envy  the  finery  and  jewelry  given  to  the 
vicious  by  admirers,  and  is  taunted  by  the  others  for  her 
weakness  and  cowardice.  Some  resist  the  taunts  but 
are  flattered  by  the  attentions  from  admirers  and  fall. 
Some  in  a  spirit  of  bravado,  and  stung  by  taunts,  accept 


140 


THE  WRETCHES 


the  first  comer ;  some  gradually  overcome  moral  scruples 
and  tlie  fear  of  physical  consequences,  associate  with  the 
vicious,  drink  with  them  and  while  under  the  influence 
of  liquor  make  their  first  false  step. 

Waitresses  in  restaurants  are  constantly  exposed  to 
temptation  and  many  fall.  Girls  employed  in  manicure 
establishments  are  peculiarly  exposed,  are  continually 
thrown  into  immodest  contact  with  men  and  are  obliged 
to  listen  to  veiled  and  often  open  allusions  to  immoral 
subjects.  In  no  other  occupation  followed  by  women  is 
it  so  difficult  to  remain  virtuous  and  modest. 
-  Many  chambermaids  in  hotels,  not  so  much  in  New 
York  hotels  as  in  hotels  in  the  smaller  cities,  earn  an  oc- 
casional dollar  beside  their  wages  from  the  male  guests. 
If  drummers'  tales  are  true  some  hotels  on  the  road  have 
pretty  chambermaids  who  can  be  had  by  applying  to  the 
clerk.  Domestics  in  homes  are  often  exposed  to  the 
sensual  desires  of  the  male  members  of  the  family  and 
often  fall.  In  one  home  for  fallen  women  92  out  of 
162  gave  their  occupation  as  domestics. 

There  are  other  occupations  in  which  women  are  ex- 
posed to  temptation  through  being  thrown  into  intimate 
contact  with  men.  The  cloak  model  must  submit  to  the 
scrutiny  of  buyers  of  business  houses,  and  these  are  not 
always  satisfied  with  merely  looking  at  the  shape  and  fit 
of  the  garment.  Artists'  models,  as  a  rule,  remain 
chaste.  The  credit  therefor  is  due  as  much  to  the  artist 
as  to  the  model,  for  while  face,  form  and  posture  may 


THE  WRETCHES 


141 


arouse  sensual  desires,  the  artist  must  suppress  these 
desires  if  he  wants  to  do  good  work.  With  the  mind 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  subject  he  is  working  upon, 
his  model  is  to  him  merely  a  part  of  the  necessary  imple- 
ments of  his  craft.  Her  personality  afifects  him  as  little 
as  does  the  form  and  beauty  of  the  patient  when  the 
physician  is  making  his  diagnosis.  The  models  who  ap- 
pear before  classes  are  occasionally  sought  after  by  art 
students  in  whom  the  exposure  and  posture  arouse  de- 
sires, but  when  the  model  falls  it  is  generally  due  to  some 
admirer  not  in  artistic  life.  Nurses  in  hospitals  are  like- 
wise exposed  to  temptations  through  their  more  intimate 
contact  with  men,  but  remain  chaste.  Devotion  to  their 
work  and  the  thought  that  the  men  are  patients  are  the 
influences  restraining  them,  aside  from  the  inherent  moral 
instinct. 

When  a  woman  is  thrown  into  constant  contact  with 
a  man  under  conditions  where  they  are  alone  and  are  not 
subject  to  outside  interference,  if  there  is  anything  at- 
tractive in  either  they  will  be  attracted  to  each  other. 
Such  attraction  leads  to  pleasant  relations  which  in  time 
become  social  and  finally  intimate.  ]\Iany  girls  employed 
as  private  secretaries,  stenographers  and  typewriters  are 
placed  in  such  a  position  that  they  are  alone  for  hours  or 
days  with  their  employers.  If  the  girl  is  viciously  in- 
clined and  seeks  to  inveigle  her  employer  she  soon  finds 
an  opportunity  to  carry  out  her  object.  It  is  generally, 
however,  the  man  who  makes  the  first  advances.  A 


U2 


rilE    IV  RE  TCHES 


rainy  day,  when  dinner  for  l)otb.  must  be  brought  in  from 
a  neighboring  restaurant,  may  be  followed  the  next  day 
by  an  invitation  to  take  dinner  together  outside  of  the 
office.  If  she  accepts  she  will  later  be  invited  to  go  to 
the  theater.  When  the  girl  has  gone  that  far  she  will  show 
her  gratitude  by  permitting  him  to  go  further.  The  fool- 
ish girl  accepts  her  employer's  advances  because  she  imag- 
ines that  he  is  in  love  with  her  and  has  perhaps  read  about 
employers  who  married  their  typewriters.  The  giddy  girl 
wants  a  good  time  and  is  proud  to  think  that  her  em- 
ployer will  take  her  out.  Some  girls  submit  believing 
they  will  lose  their  positions  if  they  do  not  favor  the 
employer ;  others  expect  an  increase  in  salary.  Whatever 
method  the  employer  may  use  to  make  the  initial  ad- 
vances, the  end  is  the  same — the  girl  falls,  and  once 
down,  she  will  generally  remain  down  unless  she  has  an 
opportunity  to  marry. 

It  would  be  an  injustice  to  cast  a  slur  upon  an  occu- 
pation which  thousands  of  hard-working  women  and  girls 
follow.  Indeed,  as  a  body,  the  stenographers  and  type- 
writers are  in  morality  above  reproach.  But  we  hear  too 
often  of  the  pretty  typewriter  who  goes  to  lunch  with  her 
employer  and  such  intimacy  is  not  conducive  to  the  good 
repute  of  the  individual  or  of  the  class.  Where  there  are 
hundreds  placed  in  the  position  we  have  described  and  so 
many  fall  through  the  causes  stated,  we  must  consider 
their  occupation  as  a  factor  in  the  development  of 
wretches. 


THE  WRETCHES 


143 


Most  of  the  wretches  who  began  their  vicious  career 
while  employed  in  shops  and  factories  blame  their  first 
misstep  to  curiosity  or  jealousy.  The  favorite  topics  of 
conversation  among  shop  girls  are  dresses,  amusements, 
and  "the  fellows" — the  last  principally.  The  vicious  ones 
make  no  secrets  of  their  liaisons,  excite  the  good  girl's 
imagination  with  description  of  the  pleasures,  quiet  her 
fears  of  the  physical  consequences  by  telling  her  tricks 
that  many  married  women  do  not  know.  The  girl's  curi- 
osity overcomes  her  conscientious  scruples  and  fears,  and 
the  vicious  girl  supplies  the  accommodating  friend. 

This  also  applies  to  offices  and  stores.  A  foreman  or 
overseer  in  a  factory  may  have  a  favorite  who  will  receive 
special  privileges.  If  she  is  tardy,  careless  or  lazy  he  will 
be  lenient  with  her  and  harsh  to  another  who  objects  to 
the  injustice.  While  some  girls  will  submit  to  injustice 
rather  than  hazard  their  position  or  reputation,  others  will 
endeavor  to  gain  the  foreman's  good  will,  even  at  the  cost 
of  their  virtue.  Sometimes  there  is  the  hope  of  advance- 
ment or  fear  of  discharge,  a  promise  or  threat,  expressed 
or  implied,  to  break  down  a  good  girl's  resolutions.  A 
girl  may  submit  to  her  lover  when  her  devotion  over- 
comes her  conscientious  scruples,  and  under  such  circum- 
stances she  will  remain  faithful  to  him.  But  when  a 
girl  submits  to  an  employer  it  is  the  beginning  of  a  down- 
ward career  which  usually  ends  on  the  streets  of  Pov- 
ertyville.  Unchastity  with  a  lover  often  leads  to  speedy 
marriage ;  with  an  employer  or  superior  it  is  often  fol- 


144  THE  V/RETCHES 

lowed  by  indiscriminate  immorality  and  prostitution. 
While  in  many  occupations  employes  are  peculiarly  ex- 
posed to  temptation  and  fall,  similar  conditions  may  in- 
duce opposite  thoughts,  virtuous  or  vicious,  depending 
upon  accompanying  circumstances.  The  face,  form  and 
posture  of  the  chorus  girl  may  arouse  admiration  with 
sensual  thoughts  when  on  the  stage,  yet  when  exhibited 
before  an  art  class  there  may  be  admiration  without  a 
trace  of  sensuality.  The  intimate  contact  of  the  nurse 
and  her  patient  produces  a  far  different  effect  upon  both 
from  the  intimate  contact  of  the  manicurist  and  her  male 
patron.  The  waiter  in  a  dive  becomes  debased  by  his 
contact  with  the  vicious,  while  the  piano  player  in  the 
same  dive  may  retain  his  respectability.  A  peculiar  fea- 
ture of  occupation  as  a  factor  in  the  development  of  vice, 
is  the  large  number  of  fallen  women  who  give  their  occu- 
pation as  seamstress,  dressmaker  or  milliner,  occupations 
which  do  not  bring  them  in  contact  with  men. 

Most  of  these  ascribe  their  fall  to  the  desertion  of  a 
lover  or  husband.  Many  blame  drink,  especially  after  a 
dance,  when,  heated  by  the  exertion  of  dancing  and  the 
close  ballroom,  they  were  induced  to  take  some  liquor, 
cooling  for  a  moment  but  intoxicating  afterwards.  After 
they  had  taken  two  or  three  of  such  drinks  they  became 
unconscious  of  the  further  proceedings. 

No  mention  has  been  made  of  poverty  or  social  con- 
ditions as  a  factor  in  the  development  of  wretches.  Cases 
occur  \vhcre  a  hungry  man  will  steal  and  a  hungry  woman 


THE  WRETCHES 


145 


will  go  on  the  street,  but  unless  there  is  a  vicious  trait 
the  act  is  done  in  desperation  and  is  followed  by  remorse. 
These  are  not  wretches.  The  great  mass  of  the  poor  are 
not  vicious,  but,  accustomed  to  their  simple  mode  of  life, 
they  abhor  vice  and  crime.  When  persons  accustomed 
to  luxuries  come  down  in  the  world  c|uickly,  they  find 
that  they  cannot  readily  accommodate  themselves  to  pov- 
erty. In  their  efforts  to  rise,  if  there  be  any  vicious  trait 
in  them  it  will  come  out  at  this  time,  and  such  a  person 
is  likely  to  become  vicious  or  criminal.  There  are  black 
sheep  in  the  families  of  the  rich  and  poor  and  no  psycho- 
logical study  can  account  for  them.  Occasionally  we  can 
find  a  hereditary  strain.  !More  often  there  are  vicious 
environments.  Lack  of  religious  teachings  has  been  given 
as  a  factor,  yet  there  are  few  of  the  wretches  who  have 
not  had  such  teachings.  Under  favorable  conditions 
these  act  as  a  restraint  to  the  passions,  but,  given  the 
opportunity,  or  let  envy,  avarice  or  jealousy  be  aroused, 
or  hunger  be  felt,  and  the  restraint  is  instantly  dropped 
as  though  it  were  a  cloak.  Once  dropped,  the  various 
factors  will  develop  the  vicious  trait  and  determine  its 
trend.  In  considering  these  factors  we  must  remember 
that  there  are  national  and  racial  traits  which  may  be 
perfectly  proper  among  such  nations  and  races,  while 
if  exhibited  by  others  thev  would  be  considered  immod- 
est, immoral  and  vicious. 


CHAPTER  IV 


CURIOUS  CHARACTERS. 


HE  underworld  of  Poverty ville  hides  many  curious 


characters.  Not  all  are  criminals  nor  even  vicious ; 
indeed,  there  are  some  who  apparently  have  none  of  its 
vices,  are  not  criminals,  yet  associate  with  criminals,  are 
exposed  to  their  temptations,  discuss  nefarious  plans 
with  them,  yet  never  enter  into  any  dishonest  scheme, 
nor  do  they  betray  those  whose  confidence  they  have 
obtained. 

Some  of  evident  refinement  are  not  without  means, 
but  almost  all  who  are  educated  and  refined  are  drunk- 
ards or  drug  fiends. 

There  is  old  Shakespeare,  who  will  quote  an  extract 
from  the  immortal  bard  when  he  asks  you  for  the  price 
of  a  drink,  and,  if  plied  with  liquor,  he  will  repeat  whole 
scenes  from  his  plays.  Some  one  has  been  paying  his 
rent  in  a  Bow^ery  lodging  house  for  the  past  ten  years, 
and  he  makes  enough  by  begging  in  his  peculiar  w^ay  to 
keep  himself  supplied  with  liquor  and  food. 

Another  educated  wretch  is  Daddy  Ward,  boon  com- 
panion of  Shakespeare  when  both  are  in  their  cups,  but 
each  avoids  the  other  when  he  is  sober.    Daddy  is  prob- 


THE  WRETCHES 


147 


ably  the  only  one  on  the  street  who  knows  Shakespeare's 
history.  In  his  sober  moments  he  refers  to  his  friend 
as  the  bum,  but  when  both  are  drunk  he  will  sometimes 
call  him  professor.  Shakespeare  looks  like  an  old  ragged 
tramp,  but  Daddy  wears  a  frock  coat  buttoned  to  the 
neck,  a  white  collar,  tie  and  cuffs.  In  his  lodging  house 
they  say  strings  take  the  place  of  suspenders,  his  ties 
are  strips  from  his  last  white  shirt  and  his  only  other 
shirt,  the  red  flannel  shirt  he  is  wearing,  might  be  mis- 
taken for  a  crazy  quilt.  No  one  knows  how  Daddy 
lives,  as  he  does  not  beg,  yet  he  has  never  more  than  a 
few  cents  in  his  pocket.  He  occasionally  speaks  of  Ball, 
Black  &  Company,  Fisk  and  Hatch,  Jay  Cooke  and  Sam 
Sloan — always  execrating  the  last  two. 

Parker — '']\Ir.  Parker,"  if  you  please,  if  you  should 
forget  to  prefix  the  ''Mr." — was  an  architect,  judging 
from  his  favorite  topic  of  conversation.  Evidently  an 
Englishman,  with  a  broad  Yorkshire  dialect,  he  claims  to 
be  an  American.  He  says  he  knows  nothing  of  English 
churches,  but  will  describe  minutely  famous  continental 
churches  and  other  architectural  features.  Some  one 
pays  his  room  rent  and  gives  him  a  small  weekly  allow- 
ance, which  he  spends  in  a  Bowery  morgue. 

"Dutchy,"  who  has  been  kicked  out  of  every  saloon 
where  a  lunch  counter  is  near  the  door,  shows  on  his 
face  the  scars  inflicted  by  the  German  University 
Schlager,  and  has  at  times  the  bearing  of  a  military 
officer.    He  is  a  keen  student  of  human  nature  and  gen- 


148 


THE  WRETCHES 


erally  strikes  the  right  plea  to  rouse  the  sympathy  of  a 
possible  donor  of  the  price  of  a  drink.  Tie  is  overbear- 
ing and  has  been  repeatedly  kicked,  cuffed  and  beaten, 
yet  lie  has  been  known  to  give  his  only  dime  to  pay  for 
another  unfortunate's  bed,  then  go  out  and  beg  for  more. 

There  is  Jack,  or  J-  Black,  under  which  name  he  reg- 
isters. He  is  evidently  well  connected,  l)ut  hides  his 
identity  under  a  ragged  suit,  and  comports  himself  like 
one  of  the  unfortunates.  Jack  is  neat,  uses  good  lan- 
guage and  does  not  drink.  Tie  is  always  provided  with 
funds,  but  no  one  knows  the  source  of  his  income.  Oc- 
casionally he  puts  on  a  good  suit  and  disappears  for  a 
few  days,  but  ordinarily  he  spends  his  days  in  the  read- 
ing room  of  a  library  near  by.  Although  he  has  been 
in  one  lodging  house  for  five  or  six  years,  the  other 
lodgers  know  no  more  about  him  now  than  they  did 
when  he  first  arrived. 

Scotty  is  another  curious  character  who  seems  to 
have  an  unfailing  source  of  income,  ^^'hen  his  funds 
are  low  he  writes  to  someone  in  Scotland,  cries  as  he 
writes,  is  morose  until  he  receives  an  answer,  then  cries 
again.  He  will  then  disappear  for  a  week  or  more,  but  he 
alwavs  turns  up  in  a  new  suit,  drunk  and  hilarious.  He 
pavs  his  room  rent  for  months  in  advance. 

Tom  Curtis,  an  Englishman,  who  lias  apparently  no 
vices,  has  a  habit  of  disappearing  for  a  month  or  two, 
then  returns  to  his  lodging  house  for  a  few  months. 
When  stopping  at  the  lodging  house  he  rarely  goes  out 


THE  WRETCHES 


149 


except  for  meals,  spending  his  time  reading  novels  and 
smoking.  He  is  probably  well  connected,  but  he  has 
no  friend  or  confidant  among  his  fellow  lodgers. 

Carey  is  an  old  rounder  who  has  been  on  the  street 
for  many  years,  following  a  regular  cycle.  When  in 
funds  he  goes  to  one  of  the  more  pretentious  lodging 
houses  and  to  good  restaurants.  As  his  funds  decrease 
he  goes  to  cheaper  places,  finally  reaching  the  ten-cent 
lodging  houses  and  eating  at  free  lunch  counters.  When 
his  funds  are  entirely  exhausted  he  will  do  the  menial 
work  in  saloons  for  the  privilege  of  sleeping  in  a  chair 
or  on  a  cask,  and  his  meals  consist  of  remnants  left  on 
the  lunch  counter.  Then  he  disappears,  but  in  a  few 
days  he  turns  up  again  at  the  good  lodging  house.  The 
whole  cycle  lasts  three  months.  WHien  he  buys  clothing 
his  money  is  soon  exhausted  and  he  goes  to  the  cheap 
lodging  house  in  a  few  weeks,  but  this  is  the  only  varia- 
tion in  his  routine.  He  has  probably  a  small  quarterly 
income  which,  if  properly  applied,  would  suffice  to  secure 
him  fair  accommodations  and  meals  throughout  the 
quarter. 

These  wretches  or  unfortunates  carefully  conceal 
their  identity  and  history,  but  there  are  some  who  will 
introduce  themselves  to  every  prospective  donor. 

One  of  these,  now  near  the  end  of  his  career,  was  in 
his  day  one  of  the  greatest  bareback  riders  in  the  world. 
He  thought  he  understood  race  horses  as  well  as  he  did 
circus  horses,  and  his  princely  salary  was  left  at  the  race 


150 


THE  WRETCHES 


track.  Then  he  became  a  heavy  drinker,  lost  his  nerve 
after  a  severe  fall  from  a  horse  while  drunk,  and  his 
friends  deserted  him.  Now  he  begs  for  the  price  of  a 
night's  lodging. 

This  wretch  has  a  friend  who,  Hke  himself,  gained 
fame  in  the  circus  ring  and  is  now  ending  his  days  as  a 
Bowery  sot.  While  the  one  roused  the  admiration  of 
thousands  by  his  daring,  the  other  gained  their  applause 
by  his  whimsicalities  and  acrobatic  misadventures.  He 
was  one  of  the  best  known  circus  clowns.  Today  his 
son  provides  for  his  lodging  and  meals  and  makes  a 
weekly  allowance  for  drink.  There  are  several  who 
were  once  familiar  with  the  applause  which  is  bestowed 
upon  the  popular  actor. 

Here  is  one  hobbling  along,  a  mental  and  physical 
wreck.  He  is  unknown  to  the  present  generation,  but  in 
the  days  of  the  blood-and-thunder  plays  he  was  one  of 
the  headliners,  his  name  familiar  to  theater  goers  all 
over  the  country.    A  few  old-timers  help  him  along. 

Another  bleary-eyed  wretch  staggers  along  forgotten 
by  his  former  admirers,  although  one  of  his  old  songs  is 
still  occasionally  heard.  He  was  one  of  a  famous  variety 
team  when  Koster  &  Rial's  place  in  23rd  Street  was  in 
its  glory. 

There  is  a  saloon  on  the  Bowery  managed  by  an  ex- 
actor where  old-time  thespians  congregate. 

Here  may  be  found  one  who  a  few  years  ago  was  a 
clever  blackface  knockabout  acrobat.    A  fur-lined  over- 


THE  WRETCHES 


151 


coat,  the  last  remnant  of  better  times,  hides  his  naked- 
ness, for  there  is  no  coat  or  vest  under  it  and  he  has  but 
a  fragment  of  a  flannel  shirt.  Whisky  gave  him  the 
nerve  or  courage  to  do  his  tricks,  but  it  also  brought  on 
palsy.  Now  when  he  takes  a  drink  he  throws  a  towel 
around  his  neck,  holds  one  end  in  the  hand  in  which  he 
holds  the  glass,  arid  pulls  the  other  end  down  with  the 
disengaged  hand.  In  this  way  the  hand  holding  the 
glass  is  sufficiently  steadied  to  be  brought  to  his  mouth. 
And  as  he  formerly  amused  audiences,  now  he  amuses 
his  companions,  who  treat  him  for  the  peculiar  pleasure 
they  find  in  watching  his  contortions  and  antics  as  he 
takes  his  drink. 

Another  frequenter  at  this  bar  was  a  soloist  in 
Thomas'  orchestra,  later  an  arranger  of  music.  He 
sought  the  end  of  a  rainbow.  The  rainbow  was  a  beau- 
tiful singer  who  drank  his  wine,  spent  his  money  and  sold 
the  favors  which  he  thought  were  reserved  for  him  alone 
to  others.  When  his  money  was  gone  the  rainbow  vanished 
and  he  became  a  misogynist.  The  deluded  wretch  found 
consolation  in  the  stone  fence,  whisky  and  hard  cider. 
From  the  Broadway  cafes  he  went  by  rapid  stages  to  the 
tough  saloons  of  the  Bowery,  and  is  now  a  wreck  mak- 
ing a  bare  living  as  "piano  professor"  in  a  dive. 

Two  other  wrecks,  once  respected  men,  are  often 
found  in  the  same  saloon.  One  was  an  inventor,  who, 
though  married,  spent  a  fortune  on  other  women.  One 
of  these  introduced  him  to  a  more  insidious  enchanter — 


152 


THE    ir  RE  TCII  ES 


absinthe.  Under  its  influence  he  exchanged  patent  rights 
for  women's  smiles  until  he  became  penniless.  Neg- 
lected by  his  family,  forsaken  by  the  women  who  robbed 
him,  he  also  became  a  hater  of  women  and  is  only  faith- 
ful to  the  green  demon  when  he  can  raise  the  price. 

Another  is  a  physician  who  is  suffering  from  some 
painful  affection  for  which  he  takes  morphine.  That  is 
the  reason  he  gives  for  taking  the  drug,  but  he  did  not 
come  to  Povertyville  until  his  wife  died,  then  he  began 
to  drink  heavily,  and  when  this  did  not  suffice  to  drown 
his  sorrow  he  took  morphine.  A  friendly  druggist  sup- 
plies the  drug  and  his  relatives  pay  for  his  lodging  and 
meals. 

*'Shadder,"  a  sot  known  in  every  Park  Row  low  sa- 
loon, died  a  few^  months  ago.  He  had  an  unfailing  daily 
income  of  half  a  dollar  given  him  by  a  friend,  which  went 
over  the  bar.  After  his  death  it  "was  found  that  he  was 
a  Yale  graduate  and  the  son  of  a  millionaire.  His  com- 
panions and  intimates  were  mostly  college-bred  men,  but, 
like  himself,  sots. 

There  may  be  something  fascinating  in  reading  the 
lives  of  great  criminals,  but  there  is  little  of  interest  in 
the  lives  of  the  petty  criminals  of  Povertyville.  A  few 
have,  however,  had  curious  careers. 

One  who  began  as  a  pickpocket  on  the  Bowery  be- 
came in  time  a  notorious  burglar  and  spent  several  terms 
in  prison. 


THE  WRETCHES 


153 


During  his  last  term  he  suddenly  announced  that  he 
nould  reform,  and  he  has  apparently  carried  out  his  inten- 
tion. With  the  proceeds  of  his  last  burglary  he  bought  a 
saloon  on  the  Bowery  and  his  place  became  the  rendezvous 
of  his  former  associates.  After  several  arrests  were  made 
in  his  place  he  was  accused  of  being  a  stool  pigeon  for 
the  police,  and  his  patronage  decreased.  The  place  was 
closed  and  the  reformed  burglar  disappeared  from  the 
Bowery. 

Some  of  the  criminals  are  the  black  sheep  of  respect- 
able families.  One  young  man  of  this  character  is  now 
working  as  a  dishwasher  in  a  Bowery  restaurant.  This 
fellow  possesses  an  innate  depravity  which  neither  moral 
teachings,  chastisement,  a  mother's  pleading  nor  prison 
bars  have  been  able  to  eradicate.  From  early  youth  he 
has  sought  the  association  of  toughs  and  since  his  man- 
hood he  has  made  his  home  among  the  vicious  and  crim- 
inal classes  of  P.overtyville.  On  rare  occasions  he  visits 
members  of  his  family,  expresses  deep  contrition  for  his 
faults,  and  will  then  work  for  a  few  days  or  weeks. 
Suddenly  he  disappears  and  is  next  heard  of  in  connec- 
tion with  some  crime.  A  peculiarity  in  his  case  is  that 
he  always  drinks  heavily  before  committing  a  crime. 

When  in  a  contrite  mood  he  works  as  a  cook,  waiter, 
piano  player,  or  salesman.  He  is  also  a  clever  acrobat 
and  actor  when  not  under  the  influence  of  drink  and  as 
such  he  can  earn  far  more  than  he  has  ever  made  as  a 
criminal.    He  has  the  appearance  of  a  criminal,  and 


154 


THE    IV  RETCHES 


when  drunk  he  is  an  ordinary  sot.  He  has  saved  the  repu- 
tation of  his  family,  among  whom  are  well-known  pro- 
fessional men,  by  passing  under  an  alias. 

Another  of  these  black  sheep  started  near  the  top  of 
the  ladder  and  is  now  near  the  bottom.  This  fellow,  a 
college  graduate,  had  luxurious  tastes  and  indulgent, 
wealthy  parents.  They  overlooked  his  first  offense, 
which  was  to  forge  his  father's  name  to  a  check  for  a 
small  amount  with  which  he  paid  a  bet.  His  next  offense 
was  in  connection  with  another  forgery,  this  time  a  check 
for  a  hundred  dollars,  which  he  gave  to  his  mistress. 
She  raised  it  to  nine  hundred  dollars,  and  the  parents 
could  not  prosecute  her  without  involving  the  son.  He 
was  sent  to  Europe,  where  he  was  imprisoned  for  some 
offense  committed  there,  then  returned  as  a  crooked 
gambler. 

Here  he  became  a  drunkard,  tried  his  hand  again  at 
forgery,  and  went  to  prison.  Since  then  he  has  been  a 
confidence  man,  a  sneak  thief  and  a  pickpocket.  Now  he 
steals  for  his  lodgings,  meals  and  drinks.  He  prides 
himself  upon  the  fact  that  he  has  never  earned  a  dollar 
honestly. 

There  is  a  decrepit  old  fellow  who  picks  up  a  scanty 
living  as  pool-room  or  gambling-house  attendant  and 
''tout"  or  professional  tipster,  wdio  was  for  years  a  noto- 
rious dive  keeper.  He  began  as  a  barkeeper  in  a  sport- 
ing saloon,  took  an  interest  in  all  forms  of  sport  and 
later  became  a  bookmaker.    Then  he  opened  a  dive  in 


THE  WRETCHES 


155 


the  Tenderloin,  but,  the  old  fellow  says,  the  protection 
money  paid  as  the  price  of  peace  ate  up  the  profits. 
When  a  high  police  official  raised  the  price  of  peace,  the 
dive  keeper  could  not  see  the  raise.  This  brought  on  a 
moral  spasm  in  the  official,  who  thereupon  closed  up  the 
dive,  leaving  the  keeper  penniless.  A  few  years  later 
he  was  again  at  the  old  business,  but  his  dive  was  now 
run  so  unobtrusively  that  only  the  initiated  knew  of  its 
existence.  Again  the  police  drove  him  out  and  he  disap- 
peared until  a  few  years  ago,  when  he  appeared  as  the 
manager  of  a  Bowery  dive. 

This  place  was  closed  and  the  old  dive  keeper  is  now 
penniless  and  almost  friendless. 

Several  former  Bowery  dive  keepers  have  been 
equally  unfortunate.  One  who  had  a  dive  in  Chrystie 
Street  and  afterwards  a  concert  hall  on  the  Bowery  paid 
all  his  profits  to  keep  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  police. 
He  was  afterwards  a  manager  for  another  dive,  then  a 
barker,  and  is  now  a  tramp. 

Especially  hard  has  it  gone  with  those  who  gave  evi- 
dence against  the  police  during  the  Lexow  investigation 
which  the  State  Legislature  carried  on  in  1894. 

One  of  these  witnesses  was  afterwards  hounded  by 
the  police  of  this  and  neighboring  cities ;  place  after  place 
which  he  opened,  or  was  supposed  to  have  an  interest  in, 
was  closed;  even  in  a  western  city  his  application  for  a 
license  was  refused  and  he  returned  to  New  York  with- 
out money  or  friends.    He  became  a  waiter  at  a  seaside 


156  THE  WRETCHES 

resort,  finally  drifting  back  to  the  old  quarters  near  the 
Bowery.  He  is  now  a  waiter  or  bartender  in  a  Bowery 
saloon. 

A  similar  fate  overtook  the  keeper  of  a  cider  room 
and  gambling  house  near  the  Bowery.  This  man  was 
not  a  witness  before  the  Lexow  committee  but  was  sus- 
pected of  having  given  private  information.  As  a  result 
the  cider  room  was  closed,  the  gambling  house  overhead 
was  raided,  although  running  in  the  name  of  a  club,  and 
the  man  moved  to  Jersey  City.  A  few  summers  ago  he 
opened  a  small  saloon  at  Coney  Island,  but  closed  it 
when  he  found  the  police  determined  to  drive  him  out 
by  compelling  him  to  keep  his  place  closed  Sundays. 
His  reputation  as  a  ''squealer"  or  informer  had  preceded 
him  there  as  elsewhere,  and  he  returned  to  New  York, 
but  could  not  obtain  a  license  for  a  saloon  nor  did  he 
dare  to  open  a  cider  room.  He  became  a  waiter,  work- 
ing on  roof  gardens  in  summer  and  in  dives  in  winter. 

Truly,  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,  but  not 
always. 

One  of  the  vilest  of  the  Bowery  dive  keepers,  the 
nephew  of  a  prominent  rabbi  now  deceased,  hides  his 
Jewish  cognomen  under  an  Irish  alias.  He  has  con- 
ducted vile  resorts  on  and  near  the  Bowery  for  twenty 
years,  the  police  no  sooner  closing  one  than  another  was 
opened  under  the  same  management.  This  man  has 
powerful  political  backing  and  a  substantial  bank  ac- 
count.   He  has  never  been  arrested ;  indeed,  it  was  said 


THE  WRETCHES 


157 


that  when  the  police  found  it  necessary  to  close  his  place 
as  a  sop  to  public  opinion,  they  first  notified  him  and 
gave  him  a  chance  to  hire  another  store  near  his  old 
place.  His  last  place  on  the  Bowery  was  closed  by  the 
police  a  few  months  ago,  and  he  has  now  a  place  in  the 
Tenderloin. 

Occasionally  there  arc  sojourners  in  Povertyville — 
temporary  wretches  who  go  on  periodical  sprees,  come 
to  Povertyville  where  they  are  unknown,  mingle  with 
its  wretches  and  plunge  into  its  vices.  During  their  stay 
they  become  vulgar,  foul  and  besotten.  They  lead  Dr. 
Jekyll  and  ]\Ir.  Hyde  lives,  their  latter  existence  revolt- 
ing to  them  in  their  sober  periods,  the  former  unknown 
to  them  in  their  periods  of  intoxication. 

One  of  these  shows  up  at  regular  intervals.  He  is 
not  ordinarily  a  drinker,  but  he  says  he  occasionally  feels 
an  uncontrollable  desire  to  drink  and  after  the  first  glass 
he  continues  to  drink  until  insensible.  Formerly  when 
he  felt  the  craving  coming  on  he  went  to  a  hotel  where 
he  was  known  and,  with  a  few  bottles  of  whisky  at  his 
side,  remained  in  his  room  for  several  days.  The  hotel 
physician  then  attended  him  until  he  became  sober. 
Now,  after  he  has  started  on  a  spree  he  goes  to  a  Bow- 
ery lodging  house,  pays  for  a  room  for  a  week,  leaves  a 
few  dollars  with  the  keeper  and  starts  out  to  drink 
heavily.  He  spends  his  waking  hours  in  dives  and 
morgues,  associates  with  drunkards  and  vile  women.  If 
his  money  gives  out  before  his  craving  is  fully  satisfied 


158 


THE  WRETCHES 


Ivj  will  exchange  his  clothes  for  drink.  During  this  time 
liC  is  apparently  ignorant  of  his  normal  self,  calls  him- 
self by  a  fictitious  name,  and  recalls  incidents  of  former 
visits  but  nothing  of  his  normal  periods.  At  the  end  of 
his  spree  he  goes  back  to  his  lodging  house  and  then 
falls  into  a  heavy  sleep  which  lasts  for  a  day  or  more. 
He  leaves  the  house  before  he  is  fully  sensible  of  his 
surroundings,  generally  at  night,  and  returns  home.  The 
period  of  intoxication  lasts  from  seven  to  ten  days,  his 
sober  periods  about  six  months.  He  says  he  has  no  rec- 
ollection of  himself  after  he  has  taken  the  first  drink, 

\Mien  he  recovers,  his  experience  appears  to  him  like 
a  jumbled  dream. 

( Such  cases  are  not  rare.  Some  years  ago  the  wTiter 
saw  a  New  York  physician  partly  intoxicated  in  the 
negro  quarter  of  a  southern  city.  The  physician  denied 
his  identity  and  said  he  was  never  in  New  York,  and 
the  waiter  supposed  he  had  been  mistaken.  He  after- 
wards visited  the  physician  in  New  York  and  learned 
that  the  latter  had  left  some  friends  wdth  whom  he  had 
been  drinking,  to  return  to  his  home  a  few  blocks  away, 
but  did  not  reach  his  home  until  two  weeks  later.  He 
had  no  recollection  of  his  actions  during  that  time,  and 
no  clue  to  his  whereabouts  except  his  hat,  wdiich  bore 
the  name  of  a  dealer  in  the  city  in  which  the  writer  had 
seen  him.) 

Among  the  female  characters  of  Povertyville  there 
are  some  who  are  not  vulgar,  a  few  who  are  not  lewd. 


THE  WRETCHES 


159 


The  women  are  more  sensitive  than  the  men,  drink 
little  and  lie  outrageously.  They  are  cynics,  despising 
the  men  who  buy  their  favors,  yet  willing  to  make  a  con- 
fidant of  any  liberal  patron.  They  will  tell  him  the  piti- 
ful story  of  their  lives,  every  word  of  which  is  a  false- 
hood, and  will  in  return  expect  the  confidence  of  the 
patron,  to  be  afterwards  used  to  blackmail  him. 

A  serious  obstacle  in  retracing  the  careers  of  the 
women  is  their  many  aliases  and  the  many  women  who 
use  the  same  name. 

Those  who'  come  from  higher  circles  adopt  a  new 
name  in  each  stopping  place,  and  some  women  may  be 
known  by  several  names  at  the  same  time.  Under  such 
circumstances  it  is  almost  impossible  to  gather  anything 
of  their  history. 

Among  the  exotics  there  are  a  few  peculiar  charac- 
ters. In  a  Bowery  dive  there  is  a  young  woman  whose 
face  and  form  might  serve  as  an  artist's  model,  whose 
dress,  deportment  and  speech  show  refinement,  but  whose 
vocation  is  little  better  than  that  of  the  women  of  the 
street.  She  gains  a  livelihood  from  commissions  on 
drinks  ordered  by  her  admirers.  Her  own  drink,  sherry, 
costs  25  cents,  half  of  which  is  her  commission. 

Although  surrounded  by  depraved,  vulgar  wretches, 
her  language  is  free  from  obscenity  and  vulgarity  and 
she  skillfully  turns  the  conversation  when  proposals  for 
her  favors  are  made.  \\''hen  admirers  become  too  ardent 
she  puts  them  oft*  with  promises  or  turns  them  over  to 


160 


THE    ]\'  R  JIT  C  II II  S 


other  women  in  the  place.  vSlic  is  an  adept  at  inventing 
pitifnl  tales  about  the  women,  and  by  arousing  the  S}"m- 
pathy  and  curiosity  of  the  Hstener  she  induces  him  to 
select  such  other  woman  instead  of  herself.  It  is  known 
that  she  has  refused  large  sums  of  money  for  her  favors. 

Some  say  that  she  is  a  stool  pigeon,  others  tliink  she 
is  the  wife  of  the  proprietor  or  of  an  employe.  She  says 
little  about  herself  and  every  habitue  will  tell  a  different 
tale  about  her, 

]\rost  of  the  chaste  women  found  in  the  disreputable 
resorts  are  the  wives  of  waiters.  They  sit  there  under 
the  watchful  eye  of  their  husbands,  drinking  with  stran- 
gers for  commissions. 

Occasionally  one  of  the  exotics  is  recognized  by  one 
of  a  slumming  party,  but  the  woman  is  discreet  and  the 
man,  who  may  have  enjoyed  her  favors  under  more  con- 
genial surroundings,  says  nothing.  On  rare  occasions 
one  is  recognized  by  a  father,  a  brother,  or  a  deceived 
husband.    Then  Povertyville  has  a  sensation. 

One  woman,  whose  history  can  be  traced  back,  began 
her  career  in  Povertyville,  rose  to  a  high  position  in  fast 
life,  and  is  now  back  in  her  old  haunts  again. 

About  twenty  years  ago  she  was  in  a  police  court 
charged  wdth  assault  upon  her  stepmother,  and  was  .sent 
to  a  reformatorv.  where  she  was  thrown  in  contact  with 
depraved  women  and  learned  their  ways. 

After  her  release  she  went  to  a  Bowery  dive,  then  to 
a  concert  hall,  and  later  she  was  a  member  of  a  bur- 


THE  WRETCHES 


161 


lesque  company.  About  1890  she  was  in  the  chorus  of 
a  Broadway  theater  and  soon  afterwards  she  became  the 
mistress  of  a  government  official.  For  a  few  years  she 
was  a  familiar  figure  in  Saratoga  and  Long'  Branch,  and 
had  at  her  command  all  the  luxuries  money  could  procure. 

A  few  years  ago  she  was  well  known  in  the  Tenderloin 
district,  and  now  she  is  back  on  the  Bowery.  Dissipa- 
tion has  made  her  repulsive,  but  she  still  has  admirers, 
attracted,  without  doubt,  by  her  brilliant  conversation. 

Two  cases  were  reported  in  the  press  a  short  time 
ago  of  women  who  once  moved  in  good  circles  and  de- 
scended into  the  whirlpool  of  Poverty ville. 

One  of  these  closed  her  career  in  the  slums  within 
five  years  after  leaving  her  home.  The  daughter  of  a 
military  offxer,  well  reared,  with  a  good  voice,  pretty 
face  and  fine  figure,  she  sought  fame  before  the  foot- 
lights. Three  years  ago  she  was  one  of  the  prettiest  girls 
in  the  chorus  of  a  Broadway  theater,  with  scores  of  ad- 
mirers. One  of  these  induced  her  to  give  up  her  posi- 
tion and  live  with  him.  In  a  year  she  became  a  drunk- 
ard and  an  opium  fiend,  her  lover  discarded  her  and  she 
began  her  downward  career.  In  less  than  two  years 
she  had  run  the  gamut  from  the  most  luxurious  house  of 
ill  fame  in  the  Tenderloin  to  the  Bowery  dive  and  a  mis- 
erably furnished  room  in  Povertyville.  There  is  an- 
other wretch  of  whom  interesting  scraps  of  history  are 
known.  She  was  the  wife  of  a  musician  in  a  theater 
orchestra.    She  learned  that  he  visited  a  dive  near  the 


162 


THE  WRETCHES 


theater  after  his  work  was  done,  and  found  him  there 
one  night.  Without  creating  a  scene  she  attracted  his 
attention  and  the  couple  left  together.  A  few  days  later 
she  found  him  there  again  with  a  female  companion,  but 
this  time  she  took  a  seat  at  his  table  and  ordered  drinks. 
He  created  a  scene  and  was  ordered  out  by  the  bouncer, 
while  she  remained,  drank  with  strangers  and  accom- 
panied one  of  them  to  a  furnished  room  house.  This 
was  her  introduction  to  a  life  of  vice.  At  one  time  she 
was  arrested  for  soliciting  and  sent  for  her  husband, 
who  secured  her  release.  She  was  not  heard  of  for  a 
few  years,  then  turned  up  in  a  Tenderloin  dance  hall  with 
the  son  of  a  well-to-do  merchant,  a  fellow  hardly  out  of 
his  teens.  During  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago  she  had 
a  ''ladies'  boarding  house"  there  and  her  cards  were 
found  in  every  gambling  house  and  in  many  hotels  in 
that  city.  Later  she  appeared  as  co-respondent  in  a 
divorce  suit  in  Chicago,  then  again  in  the  Tenderloin, 
where  she  was  frequently  arrested  for  robbing  patrons. 
Now,  old,  haggard,  a  drunken  sot,  she  is  either  on  the 
Bowery  or  in  prison.  There  is  one  old  wretch,  though 
still  young  looking  under  the  gas  light,  who  has  the  scar 
of  a  gash  across  her  cheek,  which  a  thick  coating  of 
chalk  and  rouge  cannot  hide.  When  under  the  influ- 
ence of  drink  she  becomes  loquacious  and  speaks  of 
a  wedding  trip  around  the  world  in  1873  and  1874.  She 
will  describe  the  Vienna  exposition  of  1873,  her  escape 
from  ^ladrid  in  the  fall  of  that  year  when  the  Virginius 


THE  WRETCHES 


163 


affair  made  life  disagreeable  for  Americans  in  Spain,  her 
trip  through  Egypt,  India,  China  and  Hawaii.  She 
knows  every  part  of  this  country,  but  will  not  speak  of 
California,  from  which  state  she  probably  came.  Even 
in  her  most  loquacious  mood  she  avoids  every  reference 
to  her  family  and  it  is  impossible  to  draw  her  out  in 
conversation. 

One  vile  wretch  who  came  from  Hamburg  in  charge 
of  a  procuress  about  ten  years  ago,  can  blaspheme  in  sev- 
eral languages,  always  introducing  foulness  and  ob- 
scenity. 

She  speaks  fluently  German,  French,  Russian  and 
Hungarian,  plays  the  piano  and  is  well  educated.  She 
has  no  conception  of  natural  modesty,  but  speaks  of  it 
as  an  artificial  sentiment  which  involves  personal  restric- 
tions. She  is  attractive  in  appearance,  honest  and  kind, 
but  the  total  lack  of  that  womanly  modesty  and  her  per- 
sistently foul  language  make  her  repellant. 

One,  a  newcomer,  although  past  middle  age,  is  prob- 
ably '  driven  to  her  calling  through  want.  She  is  evi- 
dently a  cultured  woman,  neat,  far  more  cleanly  than 
most  of  the  wretches  of  the  street,  speaks  German  and 
French  fluently  and  without  vulgarity. 

She  is  shy,  as  though  not  accustomed  to  the  life  she 
is  leading,  drinks  little  and  has  no  lover.  Those  who 
have  been  with  her  say  that  she  wears  a  cross  suspended 


164 


THE  WRETCHES 


from  her  neck,  and  prays  1)efore  retiring.  She  is  ex- 
tremely reticent,  has  no  friends,  and  no  one  knows  her 
history. 

There  is  little  romance  in  the  lives  of  the  women  of 
Povertyville  who  live  by  crime  rather  than  by  vice.  Al- 
most all  are  mistresses  of  petty  thieves,  adding  to  the 
common  fund  by  shoplifting.  The  careers  of  most  of 
these  women  are  alike.  They  are  indigenous  wretches 
who  frequented  tough  balls  and  there  met  their  first 
lovers.  After  consorting  with  them  they  took  up  fur- 
nished rooms  and  became  acquainted  with  professional 
criminals.  In  this  way  they  learned  the  "art''  of  steal- 
ing, especially  shoplifting.  When  they  make  a  big  haul 
they  move  out  of  Povertyville  and  then  look  for  bigger 
game.  If  shoplifting  has  not  been  profitable- the  woman 
will  look  for  patrons  in  dives.  Only  one  is  known  to 
have  a  curious  criminal  history.  She  was  the  friend  or 
mistress  of  a  western  sport  whom  she  robbed,  and  came 
to  New  York.  Here  she  became  the  companion  of  a 
criminal,  her  special  business  being  blackmail. 

Through  equivocally  w^orded  newspaper  personals  she 
obtained  a  number  of  compromising  letters  and  lived  in 
luxurv  on  the  weakness  of  her  victims.  One  of  the  lat- 
ter informed  a  friendly  police  official  and  this  woman 
was  arrested  and  after  passing  through  what  she  called 
''the  third  degree"  she  gave  up  all  the  incriminating  let- 
ters and  was  discharged.  She  and  her  partner  next  tried 
the  badger  game,  but  he  was  soon  arrested  for  an  old 


THE  WRETCHES 


165 


offense  and  she  took  up  shoplifting  and  robbing  patrons 
who  sought  her  favors.  One  of  these  had  her  arrested 
and  she  was  sent  to  prison.  Upon  her  release  she  con- 
tinued upon  her  criminal  career,  first  in  the  Tenderloin, 
gradually  coming  down  until  she  reached  the  Bowery, 
where  drink  and  disease  are  carrying  her  off.  She  has 
been  in  prison  several  times,  always  on  one  of  two 
charges — shoplifting  or  larceny.  Some  say  she  is  a  min- 
ister's daughter. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  will  follow  the  career 
of  one  WTetch  whom  the  writer  knew  for  several  years. 
This  man  studied  for  the  ministry,  then  he  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine,  and  after  he  graduated  he  married  and 
settled  down  in  his  native  town  in  Xew  Hampshire.  On 
a  visit  to  Xew  York  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a 
young  woman  who  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  do  her 
some  trifling  service.  She  told  him  a  pitiful  tale  of  de- 
sertion and  of  a  cousin,  a  stock  broker,  who  supported 
her.  aroused  the  doctor's  sympathy  and  he  aided  her  and 
promised  to  visit  her  again.  A  few  weeks  later  he  came 
to  Xew  York  again,  saw  the  woman,  and  this  time  they 
become  more  intimate.  He  soon  found  an  excuse  for 
coming  to  Xew  York  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  finally, 
telling  his  wife  he  was  going  to  Europe,  he  made  his 
home  with  the  woman.  She  had  induced  him  to  invest 
money  in  stocks,  her  cousin  acting  as  broker,  but  when 
his  money  was  gone  he  found  that  the  stock  was  worth- 
less and  he  could  not  raise  a  dollar  on  what  he  had  paid 


166 


THE  WRETCHES 


thousands.  To  cap  his  discomfiture  the  woman  told  him 
the  stock  broker  was  her  husband.  The  doctor  threat- 
ened to  kill  him,  and  when  the  stock  broker  entered  the 
room  the  doctor  drew  a  pistol,  fired  a  shot  at  the  man, 
and  escaped  without  waiting-  to  see  that  the  shot  was 
wasted.  Six  months  later  his  wife  received  a  letter  from 
the  Brazilian  government  informing  her  that  her  hus- 
band, a  surgeon  in  the  Brazilian  army,  was  wounded  and 
lay  in  the  hospital  at  Rio  Janeiro.  He  had  been  awarded 
a  medal  for  bravery  in  an  action  with  rebels,  but  had 
received  several  wounds  from  which  it  was  thought  he 
would  die.  She  went  to  Rio  Janeiro,  was  by  his  side 
until  he  recovered,  then  she  sickened  and  died.  He  had 
in  the  meantime  begun  to  take  morphine  and  after  his 
wife's  death  he  became  a  drug  fiend.  A  year  later  he 
had  charge  of  a  drug  store  on  the  east  side  in  this  city, 
and  there  he  married  again.  Through  a  remarkable 
freak  of  fate  his  old  flame  came  again  in  his  way.  He 
had  never  before  gone  out  of  his  store  without  his  mor- 
phine, but  this  day  he  was  on  the  west  side  and  finding 
that  he  had  forgotten  his  drug,  went  into  a  drug  store 
to  get  some.  As  he  went  out  his  former  sweetheart  en- 
tered, there  was  a  mutual  recognition  and  his  infatuation 
for  her  returned.  She  had  never  been  in  that  drug  store 
before,  and  it  seems  peculiar  that  both  should  be  drawn 
at  the  same  time  to  this  store,  miles  away  from  their 
homes.    Such  is  fate. 


THE  WRETCHES 


167 


The  broker  had  discarded  her  and  the  doctor  resumed 
his  former  relations,  now  leading  a  double  life — a  hfe 
of  poverty  and  misery  with  his  wife,  a  life  of  luxury  and 
pleasure  with  this  woman.  But  neither  the  income  from 
his  store  nor  from  an  illegal  medical  practice  sufficed  to 
supply  two  households  and  his  craving  for  morphine.  He 
lost  his  position,  was  fined  for  illegal  practice,  his  wife 
secured  a  divorce  and  when  he  had  no  more  money  the 
other  woman  had  no  further  use  for  him.  He  became 
a  homeless  outcast,  gave  bestial  exhibitions  to  obtain 
money  for  liquor  and  morphine  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
steal.  One  day  the  woman  who  was  responsible  for  all 
his  misfortunes  met  him  on  the  Bowery.  She,  too,  had 
reached  the  lowest  level.  She  gave  him  a  dollar  she  had 
just  earned — all  she  had — and  he  bought  enough  mor- 
phine to  end  his  life. 

Readers  may  remember  the  account  of  a  suicide  in  a 
lodging  house,  who  left  a  note  containing  a  parody  on 
the  lines,  "Goodbye,  Proud  World,  I  Am  Going  Home," 
and  some  cynical  reflections  upon  the  uselessness  of  living 
when  life's  pleasures  cease.  Such  was  the  end  of  this 
wretch. 


CHAPTER  V 


SLAVES  OF  THE  PIPE. 

N  F  ALL  the  wretches  of  Poverty ville  none  reach 
^  that  height  of  bHss,  nor  descend  to  that  depth  of 
misery,  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  opium  smoker.  None 
are  less  to  be  envied  in  their  happiness,  less  to  be  pitied 
in  their  wretchedness. 

We  must  pity  the  unfortunate  who  has  received  an 
opiate  in  some  medicine  and  finds  that  he  cannot  obtain 
relief  from  physical  suffering  without  it.  He  may  be 
taking  the  drug  for  years  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  the  victim  of  the  drug  habit. 

For  the  slave  of  the  pipe  there  are  no  extenuating 
circumstances.  He  knows  its  dangers  when  he  takes  the 
first  whiff,  he  becomes  conscious  of  its  seductive  prop- 
erties when  he  feels  like  trying  it  again,  and  every  step 
from  the  time  he  smokes  his  first  pill  until  he  has  become 
a  confirmed  fiend  carries  with  it  a  warning.  When  he 
has  reached  that  stage  where  the  drug  becomes  a  neces- 
sity he  is  oblivious  to  warnings,  indifferent  to  its  effects, 
unwilling  to  forego  its  pleasures,  unable  to  withstand  its 
cravings.  Under  its  effects  he  is  in  elysium ;  without  it, 
the  torments  of  hell  could  not  surpass  his  sufferings. 


THE  WRETCHES 


169 


Read  "De  Quincey's  Confessions  of  an  Opium  Eater'* 
if  you  would  know  the  abject  misery  of  the  wretch  to 
whom  the  drug  is  like  the  air  of  life  when  he  is  without  it. 

But  De  Quincey  never  knew  the  blissful  contentment 
which  follows  a  few  whiffs  from  the  pipe. 

The  frightful  craving  for  ''hop,"  as  they  call  the  pre- 
pared paste  of  opium  used  by  smokers,  is  like  the  gasping 
for  air  of  the  poor  devil  strangling  on  the  gallows.  The 
sudden  transition  to  happiness  when  the  fiend  has  had  a 
few  whiffs  from  the  pipe,  not  even  the  happiness  of 
Maxmilian  Morell,  when  he  met  his  Valentine  in  Monte 
Cristo's  cave,  can  compare  with  it. 

Hop  smoking  is  an  expensive  vice.  It  drains  the 
pocket  and  it  drains  the  mental,  moral  and  physical  pow- 
ers. It  drives  away  care  and  those  human  instincts 
which  create  care.  When  he  needs  the  drug  he  must 
get  it.  He  is  no  longer  restrained  by  the  still,  soft  voice 
within,  not  even  by  that  instinct  which  compelled  old 
Adam  to  make  breeches  out  of  fig  leaves,  as  the  Breeches 
Bible  tells  us. 

Body  and  soul  for  a  thimbleful  of  hop;  with  it  he 
leaves  the  world  to  you ;  he  has  heaven. 

Opium  dulls  the  physical  and  mental  sensibilities,  and 
the  fiend  apparently  becomes  inured  to  hardship,  to  hun- 
ger, cold,  exposure  and  privation.  The  system,  however, 
becomes  more  readily  affected  by  disease,  while  his  dulled 
sensibilities  and  weakened  brain  do  not  arouse  in  him  a 
realization  of  his  condition.    He  may  be  starving,  yet 


170 


THE  WRETCHES 


have  no  desire  for  food  ;  lie  may  be  in  the  last  stage  of 
consumption,  \  et  he  will  disregard  the  most  urgent  symp- 
toms as  though  unconscious  of  them. 

His  life  is  a  dream,  a  horrible  nightmare  when  with- 
out his  hop,  a  dream  of  bliss  when  drawing  on  the  pipe. 

It  is  not,  however,  except  in  the  novice,  a  dream  of 
air  castles.  It  is  a  Nirvana-like  repose,  in  which  there 
is  no  consciousness  of  self  or  surroundings. 

The  confirmed  fiend  lies  on  his  cot  "cooking"  or  pre- 
paring the  pellets  of  hop  mechanically,  conscious  of  the 
hop  jar,  lamp,  and  hook  next  to  him,  but  otherwise 
oblivious  to  surroundings,  to  the  flight  of  time,  to  the 
demands  of  nature.  It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  opium 
smoking  produces  lascivious  dreams.  When  one  tries  it 
for  the  first  time  the  mind  is  occupied  with  observations 
upon  the  impressions  produced. 

The  mind  is  more  active  and  alert  than  usual  and 
concentrated  upon  expected  ef¥ects ;  the  mental  impres- 
sions are,  however,  invariably  agreeable.  There  is  a 
feeling  of  physical  ease  such  as  one  experiences  wdien 
smoking  a  good  cigar  after  a  hearty  dinner. 

After  smoking  a  few  pills  the  novice  becomes 
drowsy,  falls  into  a  dreamless  sleep  and  awakes  with  a 
dull  headache. 

The  novice  is  tempted  to  try  it  again,  not  because 
there  is  any  desire  for  the  drug,  but  because  he  wishes 
to  repeat  the  pleasant  experience  just  before  falling 
asleep.    After  the  novelty  has  worn  of¥  and  before  he  has 


THE  WRETCHES 


171 


become  a  habitual  smoker  he  may  build  air  castles  while 
smoking,  but  in  whatever  direction  the  mind  wanders 
the  pictures  are  pleasant,  and  though  exaggerated  and 
elaborated  to  please  the  fancy,  they  present  themselves 
with  the  vividness  of  actualities. 

The  actor  will  dream  of  success  on  the  stage,  ex- 
tended until  he  sees  himself  the  center  of  the  scene,  the 
only  actor  on  the  stage,  with  the  applause  of  thousands 
ringing  in  his  ears. 

The  gambler  will  dream  of  a  game  in  which  he  holds 
the  winning  hand,  the  strongest  hand  possible,  his  oppo- 
nents chipping  in  until  the  stakes  reach  the  ceiling.  So, 
loo,  the  mechanic  dreams  of  wonderful  inventions,  the 
merchant  of  extraordinary  sales,  the  artist  of  grand  con- 
ceptions. Only  the  roue  whose  waking  thoughts  are  of 
women  will  dream  of  them  w^hen  under  the  influence  of 
opium.  The  dream  lasts  until  the  smoker  falls  asleep. 
It  is  not  a  true  dream  but  a  mental  aberration,  during 
which  the  victim  is  indifferent  to  what  is  going  on  around 
him,  even  threatened  danger  failing  to  arouse  him  after 
he  has  smoked  a  few  pills. 

At  a  later  stage  the  victim  notes  a  desire  to  smoke 
and  a  feeling  of  malaise  when  the  desire  is  unsatisfied. 

The  pipe  dreams  become  less  vivid  and  more  com- 
plicated and  after  a  time  they  must  be  conjured  up,  the 
victim  making  an  effort  to  concentrate  his  mind  upon 
the  subject.  As  the  smoker  becomes  a  ''fiend,"  as  the 
person  afflicted  with  the  drug  habit  is  called,  the  power  to 


172 


THE  WRETCHES 


think  while  smoking  is  lost,  lie  gradually  increases  the 
number  of  pills,  smoking  thirty  or  more  at  a  sitting,  the 
interval  between  the  sittings  decreasing  until  only  a  few 
hours  may  elapse  between  them.  In  these  intervals  he 
sleeps  or  attends  to  business,  but  as  his  mental  and  phys- 
ical powers  wane  he  becomes  a  complete  wreck.  After 
a  few  hours  from  the  last  smoke  the  craving  begins 
again.  The  mind  is  centered  upon  his  want,  an  inde- 
scribably intense  desire  which  nothing  but  the  drug  or 
death  can  appease. 

He  will  beg,  steal,  do  anything  to  obtain  hop;  if  he 
cannot  obtain  it  the  frightful  craving  increases,  and  a 
series  of  pathological  symptoms  begins.  He  yawns  and 
sneezes.  Pains  in  every  bone,  joint  and  muscle  set  in 
and  an  agonizing  pain  is  felt  in  the  spinal  cord.  This 
pain  is  likened  to  the  suffering  from  an  exposed  nerve 
of  a  decayed  tooth,  a  thousandfold  intensified.  The 
whole  cord  feels  as  if  it  were  exposed  and  molten  lead 
poured  upon  it.  At  the  same  time  he  suffers  from  pros- 
tration and  restlessness,  constantly  moving  about  in 
search  of  ease.  In  this  condition  he  will  not  hesitate  to 
commit  murder  or  suicide  to  obtain  relief,  but  he  is  too 
weak  to  overcome  a  child.  His  throat  burns  and  a  gnaw- 
ing pain  at  the  stomach  sets  in,  followed  by  retching  and 
vomiting.  The  frightful  agony  produced  by  this  com- 
bination of  symptoms  reaches  its  height  on  the  second 
or  third  day  after  deprivation.  Suddenly  his  mind  gives 
way  or  he  falls  in  a  state  of  collapse  in  which  he  dies. 


THE    WRETCHES  173 

Such  is  the  end  of  the  confirmed  habitue  when  his  funds 
are  exhausted.  Most  die,  however,  of  consumption,  the 
usual  compHcation  following  the  prolonged  use  of  the 
drug. 

When  one  has  taken  the  drug  but  a  short  time  and  is 
suddenly  deprived  of  it,  the  painful  symptoms  are  less 
severe,  but  the  sickening  retching  and  vomiting  are  more 
persistent.  The  constitution  has,  however,  not  been  so 
seriously  undermined  and  there  is  less  danger  of  collapse. 
The  mind  sometimes  gives  way;  usually,  however,  after 
the  combination  of  symptoms  have  continued  for  two  or 
three  days  they  gradually  subside  and  in  a  few  days  more 
they  disappear.    There  is  no  further  desire  for  the  drug. 

Whether  the  drug  be  taken  in  the  form  of  opium  or 
morphine,  whether  taken  internally,  hypodermically  or  by 
inhalation  through  the  pipe,  the  agony  produced  by  its 
deprivation  is  the  same,  but  the  most  pleasurable  effects 
are  produced  by  smoking.  This  is  the  only  form  in  which 
more  is  used  than  is  necessary  to  satisfy  the  craving;  it 
is  the  most  alluring,  the  most  expensive  form  and  the 
form  in  which  the  mental  and  physical  powers  are  most 
quickly  weakened,  but  the  smoker  never  dies  from  an 
overdose  of  the  drug,  as  sometimes  happens  when  it  is 
used  in  other  ways. 

The  smoker,  when  he  has  the  means,  will  fit  up  a 
small  den  in  his  home,  where  he  can  gratify  his  passion 
in  secret  or  in  company  with  a  few  congenial  companions. 


174 


THE  WRETCHES 


For  a  time  he  can  continue  the  vice  without  l)etraying 
liimself  except  to  other  smokers.  P)Urning  hop  gives  off 
a  heavy,  penetrating  and  persistent  odor  whicli  is  in- 
stantly recognized  hy  one  accustomed  to  it,  and  the 
smoker  lias  the  odor  about  him  for  hours  after  a  sitting. 
After  he  has  become  a  confirmed  fiend  his  appearance 
betrays  him.  The  ashy  complexion,  tensely  drawn  skin 
over  the  forehead  and  the  infallible  sign — extremely  small 
''pin-hole"  pupils,  making  the  colored  iris  more  promi- 
nent, with  glassy  whites  tinged  often  with  yellow — can- 
not be  concealed.  One  of  the  finger  tips  of  the  left  hand 
is  colored  a  deep  brown,  produced  by  frequentlv  touching 
the  pill  while  ''cooking"  to  see  if  it  is  of  the  proper  con- 
sistency. In  manner  the  fiend  is  listless,  becoming  rest- 
less when  the  craving  comes  on. 

The  recent  novitiate  into  this  vice  is  mentally  brighter 
and  more  alert  than  formerly,  but  as  the  habit  grows  his 
mind  becomes  weakened  and  this  is  usually  the  first 
change  noticed  by  his  friends. 

Chinatown  seems  to  possess  a  fascination  for  opium 
smokers.  They  will  visit  it  at  night,  feast  in  its  restau- 
rants and  fill  up  their  dens  with  Chinese  ornaments. 
Some  fit  up  dens  in  Chinatown — furnish  them  with  a  med- 
ley of  Chinese  and  American  furniture,  a  couch  replacing 
the  bed,  a  Chinese  lantern  instead  of  a  lamp,  and  Chinese 
ornaments  strewn  about  and  dangling  from  the  ceiling. 

When  the  smoker  is  near  the  end  of  his  resources  he 
will  hire  a  small  room,  perhaps  a  corner  of  a  Chinaman's 


OPIUM  JOINT  KEEPER. 


THE  WRETCHES 


175 


room,  and  make  a  bunk  out  of  a  table  or  some  boards 
placed  upon  barrels.  Some  old  clothes,  rags  or  a  bundle 
of  straw  forms  the  head  rest.  This  is  then  his  bed,  table, 
chair  and  all  tlje  furniture  he  has  any  use  for.  At  first 
he  will  have  a  curtain  around  his  bunk  to  shield  him 
from  inquisitive  eyes ;  later  he  is  indifferent.  When  hard 
pressed  for  money  he  will  rent  out  the  space  over  his 
head  for  another  bunk  and  may  even  rent  part  of  his  own 
bunk,  making  his  living  room  but  little  larger  than  the 
coffin  he  will  soon  occupy. 

There  are  many  women  in  Povertyville  addicted  to 
the  pipe.  They  are  almost  without  exception  lewd 
women,  either  connected  with  the  stage  or  with  brothels, 
or  else  they  are  the  consorts  of  criminals.  The  constant 
use  of  the  drug  destroys  in  them  the  moral  sense  and 
the  sexual  appetite. 

During  the  early  period  of  their  slavery  to  the  drug 
they  will  fit  up  dens  in  their  homes  or  in  Chinatown. 
Later  on  when  they  have  no  means  to  obtain  hop  and 
their  companions  will  not  supply  them  they  will  consort 
with  Chinamen,  living  with  them  as  their  wives.  There 
are  many  such  white  wives  of  Chinamen  in  Pell,  Mott  and 
Doyer  streets,  the  heart  of  Chinatown.  Their  rooms  are 
scrupulously  clean,  cleanliness  being,  perhaps,  the  only 
virtue  the  Chinaman  insists  upon  in  his  wife.  Other- 
wise the  rooms  are  poorly  furnished,  bunks  or  long  tables 
being  the  most  notable  furniture.  Occasionally  there  is 
a  kitchen  table,  a  chair  and  a  stove.    Meals  are  usually 


176 


THE  WRETCHES 


taken  at  one  of  the  restaurants  in  the  neighborhood,  not 
one  of  the  elaborate  show  places  which  slumming  parties 
visit,  but  a  place  patronized  mainly  by  Chinamen. 

So  these  wretched  creatures  live,  two  or  three  with 
their  yellow-skinned  husbands  occupying  one  room,  lead- 
ing an  indolent  existence,  dozing,  dreaming,  unconcerned 
about  their  fast-ebbing  lives. 

The  smoking  outfit  consists  of  the  pipe,  lamp,  needle, 
pipe  bowl  cleaner,  sponge,  a  small  bowl  to  hold  water, 
hop  jar,  and  ash  receiver.  The  hop  is  the  extract  of 
opium  prepared  for  smoking  by  a  secret  process  which 
the  whites  have  not  fully  mastered.  A  few  druggists 
have  succeeded  in  making  an  imitation  which  will  deceive 
white  smokers  but  not  Chinamen.  It  looks  like  a  thick, 
black,  pasty  salve.  The  best  quality,  number  one,  is 
made  from  opium.  Number  two  is  number  one  mixed 
with  opium  ash. 

The  pipe  or  Heen  cheung  is  a  heavy  bamboo  stem 
about  two  feet  long  and  an  inch  in  diameter  without 
mouthpiece,  except  an  ivory  tip,  and  a  clay  bowl  inserted 
near  one  end  of  the  stem.  The  bowl  is  closed  at  the  top, 
having  only  a  pin  hole  opening  in  the  center  of  the  top, 
upon  which  the  pill  is  placed  while  smoking.  The  lamp 
is  somewhat  like  an  alcohol  lamp,  burning  peanut  oil. 
The  needle  or  yen  hok  is  merely  a  short  knitting  needle, 
sometimes  with  a  handle.  The  jar  or  hop  toy  is  a  little 
china  or  horn  box  about  two  inches  high,  the  shape  of  a 
salve  box  or  thimble,  in  which  the  hop  is  kept.    The  ash 


THE  WRETCHES 


177 


receiver  is  an  ordinary  shallow  dish,  sometimes  a  clam 
shell,  on  which  the  ashes  are  collected.  The  ashes  are 
sold,  being  used  to  make  a  poorer  quality  of  hop. 

When  a  smoker  gets  a  "yin"  or  craving  he  lies  down 
on  his  couch  with  the  little  lamp  burning  by  his  side. 
With  the  yen  hok  he  draws  out  from  the  jar  a  quantity 
of  the  paste  about  the  size  of  a  pea.  Then  he  "cooks" 
the  hop  by  twirling  it  on  the  end  of  the  needle  over  the 
flame  of  the  lamp.  It  sputters  and  boils  like  boiling  tar 
or  sealing  wax,  but  it  does  not  catch  fire  and  its  color 
changes  from  black  to  dark  orange.  It  gradually  acquires 
a  more  solid  consistency,  losing  its  stickiness,  and  this  is 
frequently  tested  on  the  tip  of  the  finger.  The  mass  is 
then  "chyed"  or  drawn  into  strings  by  being  placed  upon 
the  bowl,  then  drawn  out  by  the  needle,  twirled  around 
the  needle  and  again  cooked.  In  this  way  the  whole  mass 
is  subjected  to  the  heat.  When  it  is  about  as  dense  as 
glazier's  putty  and  does  not  stick,  the  pill  is  considered 
cooked.  It  is  then  rolled  into  a  pill,  placed  over  the  hole 
in  the  bowl^  lighted  in  the  flame  of  the  lamp  while  the 
smoker  draws  on  the  stem.  He  does  not  emit  the  smoke 
as  he  would  when  smoking  tobacco,  but  he  inhales  the 
fumes  from  the  smouldering  pill  until  it  is  entirely  con- 
sumed. The  habitue  may  consume  a  pill  in  one  draw; 
the  novice  stops  after  each  whiff.  The  pill  at  once  ceases 
to  burn  and  in  relighting  it  the  flavor  is  destroyed,  as  it 
is  mixed  with  the  flavor  of  the  peanut  oil.    The  expert 


178 


THE  WRETCHES 


takes  long  whififs  with  slight  intervals,  consuming  a  pill 
in  two  or  three  minutes.  He  will  smoke  ten  to  fifteen 
pills  an  hour. 

The  odor  of  burning  hop  is  heavy,  oppressive,  and  in 
a  close  room  nauseating.  In  the  open  air  it  is  not  un- 
pleasant. Judging  from  the  statements  of  druggists  the 
number  of  drug  habitues  is  enormous,  many  taking  opium 
or  one  of  its  pfreparations  or  derivatives  in  the  form  of 
medicine  for  years.  Those  who  use  the  drug  knowingly 
take  it  in  its  pure  state  either  as  opium  pill  or  powder, 
or  as  laudanum,  or  take  morphine  in  pill  or  powder  or 
through  the  hypodermic  syringe.  It  is  a  strange  fact 
that  most  of  this  class  of  habitues  are  physicians,  drug- 
gists and  hospital  attendants,  men  who  know  the  disas- 
trous effects  of  the  drug. 

Most  of  the  smokers  are  men  with  much  leisure  time 
— actors,  sports,  panders  and  criminals. 

In  a  narrow  street  leading  to  the  Bowery  there  are  a 
number  of  dens  or  ''joints''  fitted  up  for  smokers,  where 
they  can  "hit  the  pipe,''  as  they  call  opium  smoking,  with- 
out interference. 

In  one  house,  the  exterior  of  which  is  like  a  poor,  dirty 
tenement,  there  are  scores  of  such  dens,  most  of  them 
kept  by  Chinamen,  some  by  negroes,  a  few  by  whites. 
Some  large  rooms  hold  from  four  to  eight  bunks.  Some 
rooms,  or  rather  closets,  have  one  bunk  filling  the  room. 

They  say  that  one  of  these  small  rooms  is  rented  to 
a  popular  actor  who  spends  his  Sundays  and  holidays 


COCAINE  AND  OPIUM  DEALER  AND  FIEND. 


THE    WRETCHES  1^ 

here,  bringing  his  layout  in  a  satchel  in  the  early  morning 
hours  and  departing  in  the  carriage  that  brought  him  the 
following  morning.  He  does  not  mingle  with  the  ''regu- 
lars," does  not  patronize  the  Chinese  restaurants,  and 
when  entering  and  departing  from  the  house  will  not 
acknowledge  a  greeting,  although  there  seems  to  be  no 
question  concerning  his  identity. 

It  is  not  unusual  to  see  carriages  stop  at  night  before 
this  and  other  houses  in  the  neighborhood,  deposit  their 
white  occupants,  who  hurry  into  the  building,  and  return 
for  them  in  a  few  hours  or  the  next  evening.  Those  who 
still  possess  a  sense  of  shame  come  in  a  hired  cab  and 
carry  their  layout  in  a  satchel.  These  have  private  rooms 
or  dens.  Later  on,  when  they  cannot  hide  their  vice 
from  other  smokers,  they  will  find  companions  with 
whom  they  have  a  room  in  company,  or  will  go  together 
to  a  Chinaman's  apartment.  Women  generally  come  in 
pairs  in  hired  cabs  and  go  to  Chinamen's  rooms. 

In  a  tenement  reeking  with  filth  and  vice,  crowded 
with  Chinamen  with  a  sprinkling  of  blacks  and  whites, 
there  lives  a  woman  who  has  fitted  up  a  fairy  palace  in 
a  human  cesspool.  Carpeted  floor,  lace  curtains  over 
windows  the  shutters  of  which  are  rarely  opened,  Chinese 
ornaments  hanging  from  the  ceiling,  oriental  bric-a-brac, 
and  an  ornamental  Chinese  lantern  with  a  colored  shade 
throwing  a  pink  tinge  over  all — such  are  the  furnishings 


180  rilE    IV  RET  CUES 

of  this  room.  On  a  couch  in  a  cozy  corner,  shut  in  by 
China  silk  screens,  this  woman  lies  dozing,  perhaps 
dreaming,  inhahng  the  fumes  of  hop. 

She  is  about  thirty  years  old,  has  beautiful  features, 
is  tall  and  well  built.  She  is  an  adept  in  the  use  of  cos- 
metics and  unguents,  for  under  their  use  there  is  no  indi- 
cation of  sallowness  of  the  cheeks,  her  eyes  are  brilliant, 
the  pupils  bein^  artificially  dilated  with  belladonna.  She 
is  refined  and  well  educated,  and  evidently  accustomed  to 
cultured,  perhaps  fashionable,  society.  They  say  she 
rarely  goes  out  by  day,  but  occasionally  goes  away  in  a 
carriage  at  night,  taking  her  layout  with  her.  Her  meals 
are  brought  in  from  a  Chinese  restaurant. 

Some  who  think  they  know  say  she  was  an  actress 
before  she  became  a  fiend,  while  others  who  think  they 
know  say  she  is  the  divorced  wife  of  a  San  Francisco 
merchant.  She  takes  far  better  care  of  herself  than  most 
female  fiends. 

Nearby  is  another  den,  not  so  elaborately  fitted  up, 
the  inmate  of  which  is  more  interesting  than  the  other. 
This  is  a  young  woman,  probably  a  southerner,  who 
makes  a  good  living  by  showing  visitors  how  to  "hit  the 
pipe." 

Either  she  has  not  reached  that  stage  where  sallow- 
ness, emaciation  and  pine-hole  pupils  become  marked, 
or  else  she  is  able  to  hide  these  unmistakable  signs  of  the 
vice,  for  she  is  plump,  there  is  a  ruddy  glow  on  her  dark 
skin  not  due  to  the  red  lantern  shade,  and  her  pupils  are 


COCAINE  FIEND. 


THE  WRETCHES 


181 


but  slightly  contracted.  She  is  jolly,  a  rare  trait  in  the 
confirmed  smoker.  She  is  refined  in  manner  and  speech, 
prefers  to  speak  French  and  does  not  fear  recognition. 
She  explains  every  detail  of  the  process,  cooks  a  pill, 
smokes  it,  and  offers  the  pipe  to  visitors. 

She  adds  the  statement  made  and  probably  believed  by 
every  smoker  that  the  habit  can  be  given  up  at  any  time. 
None  have  the  will  power  to  do  so  when  it  has  once 
become  a  habit. 

\'isitors  pay  whatever  they  wish  for  the  exhibition, 
placing  the  money  on  the  mantle. 

The  only  redeeming  feature  in  the  career  of  the  pipe 
fiends,  though  an  uncharitable  view  it  be,  is  the  shortness 
of  their  useless  lives.  Consumption  generally  sets  in  and 
carries  them  off. 

^lany  of  the  opium  fiends  are  also  **coke"  fiends  or 
cocaine  habitues.  This  drug  is  snufifed  up  the  nose  and 
produces  a  mild  stimulation,  followed  by  intense  depres- 
sion. Scores  of  such  "coke"  fiends  live  in  the  poor  lodg- 
ing houses  near  Chinatown.  A  basement  pool  room  near 
Chatham  Square  is  the  hang-out  for  these  wretches. 

A  word  might  here  be  said  about  Chinese  restaurants. 
These  have  increased  to  a  remarkable  extent  and  are  now 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  ]\Iost  of  these  outside  of 
Chinatown  are  patronized  by  whites  and  negroes. 

These  are  poor  imitations  of  real  Chinese  restaurants, 
most  are  conducted  by  whites  and  have  white  cooks  but 
have  Chinese  waiters.    The  dishes  are  intended  to  suit 


132 


THE    ir  RE  TC  11  ES 


ilie  laslc  of  the  whiles,  only  two,  yakomcn  and  chcjp 
.'.iic}',  being  prepared  aecorcHng  to  Chinese  methods.  The 
former  is  a  noodle  sonp  containing  bits  of  chicken,  pork 
and  eggs.  The  latter  is  a  porridge  of  beans,  onions, 
mushrooms,  sprouts,  pork  and  chicken,  highly  seasoned. 

The  pretentious  restaurants  of  Chinatown,  those 
shown  to  slumming  parties,  are  elaborately  fitted  up. 
One  has  tables  and  chairs  of  ebony,  inlaid  with  mother 
of  pearl,  silverware,  fine  chinaware,  and  for  white  vis- 
itors knives,  forks  and  spoons  and  a  bill  of  fare  printed 
in  Chinese  and  English.  Cleanliness,  neatness  and  de- 
corum are  not  surpassed  in  the  fashionable  restaurants 
of  Fifth  Avenue. 

The  rank  and  file  of  Chinamen,  however,  go  to  small 
restaurants  which  are  rarely  visited  by  whites,  except 
fiends  who  live  in  the  neighborhood.  High  stools  are 
used  instead  of  chairs  and  the  tables  are  a  little  higher 
and  but  little  larger  than  the  stools. 

There  are  no  ornaments,  no  silverware,  there  is  heavy 
crockery,  and  everybody  handles  the  quitsees  or  chop 
sticks.  A  plate  of  chop  suey  or  yakomen  costs  here  ten 
cents  and  is  sufficient  for  a  meal.  Tea  is  served  instead 
of  water  in  all  Chinese  restaurants.  Though  irrelevant 
to  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  we  will  mention  here  the 
special  features  of  Chinatown.  These  are  the  theater, 
restaurants.  Joss  House  or  Temple,  the  opium  joints, 
gambling  houses  and  business  houses.  All  slumming 
parties   visit   the  theater,  which   has   been  described. 


THE  WRETCHES 


183 


Guides  take  visitors  to  a  Chinese  restaurant,  either  the 
one  at  the  corner  of  Pell  Street  and  the  Bowery,  on  Pell 
Street  opposite  Doyer  Street,  corner  Doyer  Street  and 
the  Bowery,  or  on  Mott  Street  in  the  Joss  House.  These 
differ  as  much  from  the  ordinary  Chinese  retaurants  as 
a  Fifth  Avenue  restaurant  differs  from  a  Bowery  "hash 
house."  There  is  little  difference  in  the  Chinese  opium 
joints,  and  when  whites  open  joints  they  imitate  the 
Chinamen  and  add  a  lot  of  Chinese  ornaments,  which 
they  scatter  about  the  room.  The  Joss  House  in  Mott 
Street  near  Chatham  Square  is  as  interesting  as  any  other 
feature  in  Chinatown  and  is  shown  to  visitors.  It  has 
been  so  often  described,  pictured  and  visited  that  it  ought 
to  be  familiar  to  all  readers.  The  gambling  houses  are 
run  openly  but  are  rarely  visited  by  whites,  and  sight- 
seers are  not  welocme.  The  game  stops  as  soon  as  a 
party  of  whites  enter  and  the  visitors  see  only  a  few 
round  tables,  high  stools  and  a  number  of  chattering 
Chinamen. 

Opposite  the  theater  is  the  notorious  Chatham  Club. 
Near  the  Joss  House  is  a  notorious  dive  which  has  been 
frequently  raided.  Its  back  room  is  patronized  mainly 
by  lewd  women  who  have  contracted  the  opium  habit 
and  their  lovers. 

Near  the  theater  is  the  Rescue  Alission,  which  is 
crowded  nightly  by  the  wretches  of  Povertyville  and  is 
one  of  the  sights  of  Chinatown. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  LIVES  OF  THE  WRETCHES. 

'T'HE  wretches  of  Povertyville  keep  no  diary,  for  to 
them  yesterday  is  but  a  bitter  memory,  and  could 
they  command  forgetfulness  the  moment  past  would  be 
as  veiled  to  them  as  the  ages  to  come.  To  know  how 
they  live  we  must  follow  their  footsteps. 

There  is  the  poor  devil  who  came  to  this  city  in  search 
of  work.  Without  a  trade  except  perhaps  farming,  un- 
accustomed to  indoor  labor,  with  limited  education,  he 
has  been  unable  to  secure  steady  employment.  Now, 
without  money  or  friends,  clothes  shabby,  ambition 
almost  extinguished,  we  find  him  in  a  cheap  lodging 
house. 

He  has  learned  to  beg  but  he  has  still  some  manhood 
left  and  would  rather  work. 

He  is  awakened  at  six  o'clock,  the  attendant  rapping 
at  the  door  of  his  seven-by-five  closet,  or  shaking  him 
as  he  lies  on  his  cot  in  the  dormitory. 

He  throws  off  the  horse  blanket  with  which  he  is  cov- 
ered, dresses,  washes  at  the  common  lavatory,  uses  the 
comb  and  brush  chained  to  the  faucet,  brushes  his  clothes 
with  a  whisk  broom  and  his  shoes  with  his  coat  sleeve, 


THE  WRETCHES 


185 


then  goes  off  in  search  of  work.  After  scanning  the 
''help  wanted"  list  clipped  from  the  daily  papers  and 
posted  before  the  Y.  ^I.  C.  A.  Building  on  the  Bowery 
and  several  other  places  nearby,  he  begins  the  heart- 
breaking chase  from  place  to  place  where  help  is  wanted. 

"Where  did  you  work  last?"    ''On  a  farm." 

"References?"    "Have  none." 

"Where  do  you  live?"    "In  a  Bowery  lodging  house." 

No  experience,  no  references,  no  home ;  three  unsur- 
mountable  obstacles.  Scores  of  times  he  has  been  told 
they  would  let  him  know  and  he  has  learned  that  this  is  a 
virtual  rejection.  Wherever  he  applies  an  hour  later  he 
is  told  "just  too  late."  He  has  now  another  wasted  day 
before  him  and  another  dreary  wait  for  the  morrow. 

Our  poor  wretch  has  become  accustomed  to  get  along 
without  breakfast  and  he  spends  the  morning  hours  in 
the  reading  room  of  the  Cooper  Union  or  some  other 
reading  room  in  the  neighborhood.  At  noon  he  makes 
his  way  to  one  of  the  many  saloons  on  the  Bowery  and 
during  the  busy  hour  when  the  bar  and  free  lunch  counter 
are  crowded  he  mingles  with  the  crowd  and  gets  a  free 
meal,  breakfast  and  dinner  combined. 

Then  comes  the  task  of  the  day  to  secure  his  "bote" 
money  for  his  night's  lodging.  This  means  a  begging  or 
borrowing  expedition.  Men  of  this  class  who  have  no 
assured  means  of  repaying  loans  do  not  obtain  them 
readily  and  unless  there  is  a  newcomer  at  his  lodging 
house  he  will  be  obliged  to  depend  upon  the  generosity 


186 


THE  WRETCHES 


of  sympathetic  strangers.  If  he  is  an  adept  at  reading 
faces  and  knows  the  tricks  of  the  pan-handlers  he  will 
obtain  enough  to  tide  him  over  a  few  days.  In  the  even- 
ing he  will  go  to  a  mission  where  food  is  furnished  after 
the  services,  join  in  the  singing,  and  after  receiving  a 
cup  of  coffee  and  some  bread  he  returns  to  his  lodging 
house. 

The  next  day  there  may  be  a  variation  in  the  routine. 
After  the  usual  morning  hunt  for  work  if  he  has  a  few 
cents  to  spare  he  will  play  cards  in  his  lodging  house 
until  noon  hour  is  past.  He  will  then  go  to  the  same 
saloon  he  visited  the  day  before,  buy  a  glass  of  beer  and 
carry  it  to  the  free  lunch  counter.  This  is  done  to  show 
the  lunch  man  that  he  is  a  regular  patron  of  the  place, 
and  he  can  pursue  the  course  of  the  previous  day  for 
several  days  thereafter. 

The  afternoon  is  spent  in  a  reading  room  or  at  the 
lodging  house  unless  his  funds  are  exhausted.  Then  he 
must  go  on  another  begging  expedition. 

These  two  days  comprise  the  routine  of  life  at  an 
early  stage  of  the  wretch. 

Let  us  now  follow  the  wretch  in  his  last  stage. 

The  public  comfort  house  in  Mulberry  Bend  Park  is 
one  of  the  places  where  he  spends  his  nights.  In  summer 
a  park  bench  is  his  bed,  but  during  the  cold  winter  months 
a  tender-hearted  keeper  will  permit  him  to  remain  in  this 
warm  room,  where  he  sleeps  standing  or  leaning  against 
his  neighbor. 


THE  WRETCHES 


187 


Perhaps  for  days  he  has  not  removed  his  ragged  coat 
or  old  shoes.  Water  is  an  abomination  to  him.  Gladly 
would  he  request  the  judge  to  commit  him  to  prison  for 
ten  days  beginning  two  days  before  Christmas,  but  the 
dreadful  ordeal  of  an  enforced  bath  deters  him.  The 
ten  days  include  a  Christmas  dinner,  a  Xew  Year's  dinner 
and  one  or  two  Sundays  of  idleness,  but  it  also  includes 
a  wash. 

If  hydrophobia  were  merely  a  dread  of  water  this 
wretch  would  have  it  in  its  most  pronounced  form. 

At  daybreak  the  keeper  of  the  comfort  house  turns 
the  wretch  out.  No  time  is  lost  in  dressing,  washing, 
or  prayers,  but  off  he  goes  to  the  Bowery  for  his  break- 
fast. He  may  have  secured  a  loaf  of  bread  in  the  bread 
line  the  night  before,  or  he  may  depend  upon  a  free  lunch 
counter  in  return  for  sweeping  out  the  saloon. 

Next  comes  the  serious  work  of  the  day — to  find  some 
luckless  individual  who,  after  a  night's  carousal,  has 
fallen  asleep  in  a  hallway  or  alleyway.  If  he  finds  one 
whose  pockets  are  turned  inside  out  he  knows  that  a 
waiter  has  forestalled  him.  In  that  case  the  victim  has 
probably  been  drugged  and  it  is  safe  to  remove  his  coat 
and  shoes  without  awakening  him.  If  the  victim  has  not 
yet  been  "touched"  or  robbed  the  wretch  makes  a  haul. 
He  disposes  of  the  proceeds  to  a  bartender,  investing 
the  cash  for  beer,  never  for  clothing.  He  drinks  so  much 
that  he  is  overcome,  is  cleaned  out  and  thrown  out,  and 
is  next  carried  to  the  police  station.    If  he  has  not  made 


188 


THE  WRETCHES 


a  haul  he  knows  several  tricks  by  which  lie  can  arouse 
sympathy  and  gain  a  few  nickels  and  dimes.  All  go  for 
beer.  When  he  can  gain  nothing  by  trickery  he  will  walk' 
the  streets  till  midnight,  then  go  to  the  Bowery  Mission, 
where  coffee  and  bread  are  distributed,  and  later  to 
Fleischman's  corner,  where  he  gets  a  loaf  of  bread.  The 
day  is  spent  in  a  "tub"  house  or  walking  the  streets. 

Occasionally  he  will  go  to  a  mission  house,  announce 
his  willingness  to  reform,  give  his  testimony,  pose  as  the 
horrible  example,  be  prayed  over,  cried  over  by  tender- 
hearted and  tender-minded  evangelists,  receive  useless 
religious  advice,  some  food  and  perhaps  a  ticket  for  a 
'night's  lodging.  This  he  sells  for  the  price  of  a  glass  of 
beer,  and  when  that  is  consumed  he  returns  to  his  sleep- 
ing place  in  the  park.  In  warm  weather  he  will  "carry 
the  banner,"  i.  e.,  w^alk  the  streets  all  night. 

Let  us  next  follow  an  unfortunate  fellow  who  retains 
his  self-respect,  who  will  not  beg,  borrow  or  steal,  who 
is  not  suffering  from  hydrophobia,  kleptomania,  or  any 
other  of  these  moral  perversions  which  are  vices  in  Pov- 
ertyville  but  diseases  in  Uppertendom. 

This  fellow  wants  work  and  will  do  any  honest  work, 
however  menial,  to  keep  him  from  starving.  When  he 
has  the  price  he  stops  at  the  Mills  Hotel,  paying  20  cents 
for  his  room  and  35  cents  a  day  for  his  meals.  If  he 
has  no  money  and  no  work  he  applies  at  the  Bowery 
branch  of  the  Y.  '\\.  C.  A.    Here,  if  he  has  references, 


THE  WRETCHES 


189 


he  will  receive  bed  and  food  for  a  few  days  while  the 
superintendent  aids  him  to  procure  work. 

Or  he  will  go  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society  on 
22nd  Street  and  he  will  be  sent  to  the  Wayfarers'  Lodge 
on  West  28th  Street.  He  will  there  saw  wood  for  three 
or  four  hours  and  he  will  receive  therefor  bed,  bath  and 
meals. 

The  society  will  also  aid  him  to  secure  work.  He 
might  go  to  the  Industrial  Christian  Alliance  in  Bleecker 
Street,  where  he  can  obtain  temporary  lodging  and  meals, 
doing  work  therefor,  but  that  institution  is  rather  a 
reformatory,  most  of  its  inmates  being  fallen  men.  Our 
case  will  find  this  place  uncongenial  and  he  will  probably 
not  remain  more  than  a  day. 

As  a  last  resort  he  will  go  to  the  Municipal  lodging 
house. 

He  has  one  alternative — to  walk  the  streets  all  night, 
stopping  at  the  Bow^ery  Mission  at  midnight  for  supper 
and  at  Fleischman's  for  the  dole  of  bread  wdiich  will  serve 
him  for  next  morning's  breakfast.  Our  wretch  does  his 
own  mending  and  his  own  laundry  work.  Instead  of  a 
white  shirt  he  may  wear  a  celluloid  shirt  front  and  none 
can  tell  the  difference.  Rubber  collars  and  cuffs  last  for 
months  and  require  no  washing.  At  a  barber  school  he 
obtains  a  free  shave  and  haircut,  the  pupils  using  such 
material  to  practice  upon.  When  not  at  work  he  goes 
to  a  reading  room,  the  rendezvous  of  the  homeless  and 
unemployed. 


190 


THE  WRETCHES 


When  out  of  work  for  a  lengthy  period,  when  driven 
to  the  verge  of  despair,  and  beggary  or  theft  seem  to  be 
the  only  resources  left,  this  wretch  goes  to  the  police  court 
and  asks  to  be  committed  to  the  workhouse  as  a  vagrant. 
Such  cases  are  not  rare. 

The  vicious  and  criminal  classes  live  far  dififerent 
lives  from  the  foregoing. 

The  fellow  inbred  in  vice  has  no  idea  of  virtue.  The 
world  owes  him  a  living  and  he  \\'\\\  collect  the  debt,  a])- 
pealingly  or  forcibly,  but  he  will  not  work  for  it. 

In  many  cases  a  female  wretch  supplies  him  with 
funds  and  he  in  return  protects  her.  She  has  a  fur- 
nished room  which  is  his  home.  He  appears  on  the  street 
in  the  afternoon,  goes  to  a  show,  a  sporting  resort  or  a 
club  where  others  of  his  class  congregate.  There  they 
gamble,  but  they  play  honestly,  for  each  one  suspects  the 
others  and  all  know  the  usual  tricks.  When  the  lamps 
are  lit  in  the  evening  his  work  begins.  His  female  com- 
panion appears  on  the  street,  and  he  follows  her  into  the 
dive,  where  he  sits  behind  her  ready  to  receive  anything 
she  can  steal  from  an  unsuspecting  victim.  If  the  latter 
finds  that  he  has  been  robbed  nothing  can  be  found  on 
the  woman. 

If  she  takes  a  victim  to  her  room  he  is  there  before 
they  arrive,  secretes  himself  in  a  closet  or  under  the  bed 
and  w^aits  for  an  opportunity  to  search  the  victim's 
clothes.  If  he  makes  a  haul  the  woman  is  apprised  of  the 
fact  and  she  dresses  quickly  and  hurries  away.  When 


THE  WRETCHES 


191 


the  victim  finds  that  he  has  been  robbed  he  hurries  after 
her  and  she  may  be  arrested,  but  nothing  is  found  upon 
her,  and  the  victim  will  rather  stand  the  loss  than  the 
notoriety  attached  to  pubHcity. 

If  the  wretch  has  had  no  opportunity  to  rob  the  vic- 
tim he  waits  until  the  latter  leaves,  then  takes  the  money 
the  woman  has  just  earned,  and  the  two  get  dinner,  after 
which  they  go  out  for  new  victims.  This  is  the  routine 
of  the  pander.  Sooner  or  later  he  goes  to  jail  and  after 
his  release  he  becomes  a  full-fledged  criminal. 

The  life  of  the  criminal  is  much  like  the  life  of  the 
pander.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  professional  criminals 
has  his  "Moll"  or  female  companion  with  whom  he  has 
a  furnished  room  or  flat.  There  is  a  social  status  among 
the  criminals  as  strictly  drawn  as  in  higher  life.  Sooner 
would  a  portrait  painter  admit  the  sign  dauber  to  his 
class  or  the  society  woman  admit  her  cook  to  her  four 
o'clock  tea,  than  would  the  burglar  or  forger  associate 
with  the  pickpocket  or  sneak  thief. 

This  condition  prevails  even  among  the  small  fry  of 
Povertyville.  The  pickpocket  and  the  fellow  whose 
game  is  hallway  and  gutter  drunks  hang  about  dives  and 
low  saloons  while  their  ''Molls"  ply  their  trade  on  the 
street  or  do  a  little  shoplifting. 

When  not  engaged  in  criminal  pursuits  this  class 
spends  it  days  at  the  bar  of  a  saloon  or  in  gambling. 

The  criminal  who  looks  for  bigger  game  than  door 
mats,  handkerchiefs,  children  and  gutter  drunks,  does 


192 


THE  WRETCHES 


not  frequent  dives  and  low  saloons.  His  "Moll"  is  a  pro- 
fessional shoplifter,  and  need  not  walk  the  streets  or 
hang  about  for  victims.  The  couple  lead  apparently 
respectable  lives  in  a  flat  or  furnished  room,  unsuspected 
until  one  of  them  is  caught  by  the  police.  He  spends  his 
(lays  in  the  more  pretentious  saloons,  in  the  clubs,  gam- 
bling houses  or  pool  rooms,  while  she  is  working  the 
department  stores.  He  gives  his  occupation  as  "specu- 
lator," and  this  must  satisfy  inquisitive  ones  who  want 
to  know  why  he  is  out  late  at  nights.  Many  of  this  class 
are  opium  fiends.  ^ 

Of  the  female  wTetches  of  Povertyville  the  few  vir-*** 
tuous  unmarried  ones  who  are  not  drug  fiends  find  shelter 
in  the  woman's  lodging  houses  or  in  furnished  rooms. 
A  score  or  more  of  philanthropic  organizations  look  after 
the  welfare  of  women  if  they  are  willing  to  work.  When 
homeless  and  penniless  they  go  to  the  Free  Home  for 
Girls  in  Mulberry  Street,  where  there  is  no  restriction 
to  age,  race,  or  nationality.  The  Charity  Organization 
Society  also  provides  for  them  temporarily  if  they  are 
willing  to  work.  As  a  last  resort  they  go  to  the  Salvation 
Army,  or  to  the  Municipal  lodging  house.  Such  women 
have  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  work  through  one  of 
the  many  employment  bureaus  in  the  city. 

Alost  of  the  women  who  ply  their  trade  on  the  street 
lead  very  regular  lives.  They,  with  their  lovers  or  pan- 
ders, live  in  furnished  rooms  in  houses  where  no  ques- 
tions are  asked.    The  woman  rises  in  the  afternoon,  pre- 


THE  WRETCHES 


193 


pares  breakfast  in  her  room,  then  lounges  about  until 
evening.  When  darkness  sets  in  she  starts  out  in  search 
of  victims.  Tv^o  v^omen  generally  go  together,  with  their 
lovers  behind  them.  They  go  from  dive  to  dive,  sitting 
a  few  minutes  in  each,  or  saunter  along  the  street,  ever 
on  the  lookout  to  catch  the  eye  of  a  possible  patron. 
\\'hen  one  is  caught  and  disposed  of,  the  woman  and  her 
lover  have  dinner. 

In  the  early  morning  hours,  when  the  street  and  dives 
are  deserted,  they  return  to  their  rooms.  This  is  the 
routine  of  their  lives.  Some  lead  apparently  respectable 
lives,  working  as  milliners  or  seamstresses  by  day.  These 
have  great  difificulty  in  maintaining  their  double  vocations 
and  either  break  down  from  the  strain  or  give  up  the  day 
work  altogether. 

Those  who  have  furnished  rooms  with  respectable 
families  claim  to  be  waitresses  or  cashiers  in  all-night  res- 
taurants. These  have  no  lovers.  They  do  not  bring  their 
patrons  to  their  homes  but  take  them  to  a  Raines  Law 
hotel.  Some  live  at  these  hotels^  doing  the  chamber  work 
in  the  morning,  resting  in  the  afternoon  and  walking  the 
street  at  night. 

Those  in  the  "Ladies'  Boarding  Houses"  lead  dull, 
regular  lives.  Arising  at  noon,  they  have  breakfast,  fix 
up  their  rooms,  read  or  sew  till  seven  o'clock,  then  comes 
dinner.    After  that  they  are  ready  for  visitors.  They 


194 


THE    W  Rli  TCiniS 


sit  in  llic  i)arl(n-  awaiting  admirers  until  the  early  morninf]^ 
hour,  when  they  retire.  They  rarely  leave  the  house 
unless  hired  for  a  night. 

\Mien  the  wretch  has  reached  that  stage  where  no 
artifice  will  enable  her  to  secure  patronage  she  joins  the 
''Bazimer"  colony  or  ''fire  lighters."  These  are  old 
women  who  congregate  at  certain  corners  east  of  the 
Bowery  waiting  to  be  engaged  to  do  a  day's  washing  or 
scrubbing,  and  to  light  lamps  and  start  fires  in  the  homes 
of  the  pious  Jews  in  the  neighborhood.  The  pious  Jew 
will  not  light  a  match  on  Saturday  or  on  a  religious  holi- 
day, or  on  the  previous  evening.  At  such  times  these 
women  come  to  the  house,  light  lamps  for  tw-o  cents,  and 
start  fires  for  five  cents.  They  receive  a  dollar  for  a 
day's  work. 

They  stand  at  their  corners  throughout  the  day,  going 
from  time  to  time  to  a  Raines  Law  hotel  or  low  saloon, 
where  they  drink  ale  and  whiskey  in  the  rear  room.  When 
one  has  had  a  couple  of  days'  washing  she  must  treat 
the  crowd.  Usually,  however,  wdien  one  has  had  that 
good  fortune  she  drinks  so  much  before  she  gets  to  her 
corner  that  she  lands  in  the  police  station.  The  w^omen 
live  in  garrets  or  cellars  in  Cherry  Street,  Mulberry 
Street,  Baxter  Street  and  Oliver  Street,  tw^o  or  more 
occupying  one  room.  Most  of  them  are  rounders  or 
''revolvers" — that  is,  wretches  w-ho  are  repeatedly  sent 
to  the  workhouse  on  the  charge  of  drunk  and  disorderly. 


THE  WRETCHES 


195 


There  is  comparatively  little  depravity  and  few  crim- 
inals among  the  young — far  less  than  might  be  expected 
in  a  city  holding  thousands  of  homeless  gamins.  This  is 
in  part  due  to  the  school  attendance  law,  which  compels 
parents  and  guardians  to  send  children  to  school  a  certain 
number  of  weeks  every  year,  and  to  the  work  of  the 
Children's  Aid  Society,  American  Female  Guardian  Soci- 
ety, and  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Children.  The  Newsboys'  lodging  house  has  been  a  most 
potent  factor  in  elevating  the  morals  of  the  homeless 
little  fellows.  It  has  sheltered  thousands  who  would  oth- 
erwise have  been  driven  to  associate  with  the  shiftless 
and  vicious  and  in  its  way  it  has  done  more  to  prevent 
the  production  of  criminals  than  any  other  institution  or 
organization  in  the  city. 

There  are  some  fellows  who  are  instinctively  vicious, 
who  will  not  sell  papers,  black  boots,  or  do  any  kind  of 
work,  but  will  steal,  drink,  smoke  and  associate  with  crim- 
inals. 

They  live  under  docks,  or  spend  nights  in  club  rooms, 
in  cellars  or  in  wagons.  They  are  pickpockets  or  sneak 
thieves  or  aid  the  big  "guns"  or  thieves  in  their  projects 
and  learn  the  tricks  of  their  trade  at  so  early  an  age  that 
they  become  full-fledged  crooks  before  they  reach  their 
teens. 

They  gamble,  cheat,  drink  and  comport  themselves 
like  old  criminals,  whose  example  they  follow  and  whose 
ways  they  try  to  imitate. 


196 


rii  II  w  R  ETCH  ns 


]\Iany  of  the  young  scamps  live  at  home  with  vicious 
parents.  In  lliem  depravity  is  inherited  and  developed  by 
the  example  set  before  them.  They  are  sent  out  to  beg 
or  steal,  are  praised  when  they  are  successful,  and  pun- 
ished when  they  return  empty-handed.  These  little  fel- 
lows lead  wretched  lives,  being  on  the  street  all  day,  often 
driven  to  desperation  wdien  they  have  been  unsuccessful, 
fearing  the  beating  at  home  yet  more  fearful  of  the  dire 
punishment  which,  they  had  been  told,  w^ould  be  inflicted 
if  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  police.  Occasionally 
one  will  pluck  up  sufficient  courage  to  say  Gerry  Society 
(Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children)  at 
home.  He  is  then  beaten,  starved  and  otherwise  mal- 
treated and  made  to  swear  that  he  will  never  repeat  that 
name  or  attempt  to  inform  that  society.  After  he  has 
been  repeatedly  beaten  he  will  run  away  and  the  next 
few  hours  will  decide  his  future  career.  He  will  not 
dare  to  tell  his  troubles  to  an  officer  unless  hungry,  and 
his  usual  recourse  is  to  tell  some  newsboy,  or  ask  him 
how  to  get  some  papers  to  sell.  If  he  goes  to  the  News- 
boys' lodging  house  he  is  saved ;  otherw^ise  he  wall  steal 
and  follow  a  criminal  career. 

There  are  some  fellows  who  are  bad  in  spite  of  good 
surroundings  and  moral  teachings.  These  run  away  from 
home  and  join  a  gang,  wdiere  they  try  to  emulate  the 
doings  of  the*  older  boys.  They  follow  the  example  of 
some  tough  and  live  like  the  homeless,  vicious  street 
gamins. 


THE  WRETCHES 


197 


We  read  occasionally  of  schools  where  boys  are  taui^ht 
to  become  pickpockets  and  sneak  thieves.  These  are  sim- 
ply cases  where  the  leader  of  the  gang,  generally  the 
oldest  fellow,  shows  the  newcomer  some  tricks,  and  when 
the  latter  makes  a  haul  the  leader  takes  away  the  prize. 
When  the  novice  is  arrested  he  accuses  the  leader  of 
having  taught  him  the  tricks  and  taking  the  proceeds  of 
the  thefts.  The  press  then  gives  a  sensational  account 
of  a  "Fagin's"  school  for  criminals. 


CHAPTER  VII 


CRAFT  AS  A  SCIENCE. 


PPLIED  to  nobler  purposes  it  would  be  called 


genius ;  as  used  by  the  beggar  and  criminal  to  ob- 
tain a  livelihood  without  labor  it  is  craft. 

However  repellant  to  the  moral  sense  the  methods 
may  be,  we  must  admire  the  successful  beggar's  keen 
discernment  of  character,  the  thief's  daring  and  the  trick- 
ster's knowledge  of  human  nature. 

The  most  successful  of  the  beggars  are  the  letter 
writers.  They  neither  live  nor  work  in  Povertyville  and 
may  be  dismissed  with  the  remark,  they  are  all  frauds. 

Street  beggars  depend  either  upon  an  infirmity  to 
arouse  sympathy,  or  upon  appropriate  pleas. 

While  there  are  many  actual  cripples  among  beggars, 
many  are  artificial  cripples — ''fake  bandagers,"  they  are 
called. 

The  hand  strapped  firmly  to  the  shoulder  with  an 
artificial  forearm,  which  can  be  rented  by  the  day,  makes 
an  armless  beggar.  It  is  easier  and  more  comfortable  to 
strap  the  whole  arm  to  the  side,  but  this  infirmity  is 
looked  upon  with  suspicion  and  an  artificial  arm  is  very 
expensive. 


THE  WRETCHES 


199 


It  requires  some  acrobatic  work  to  produce  a  one- 
legged  beggar.  The  leg  is  strapped  back  upon  the  back 
of  the  thigh,  and  the  imposter  sits  upon  his  foot;  or  the 
leg  is  stuck  into  an  artificial  leg,  but  such  an  appliance 
is  expensive.  One  beggar  was  caught  by  the  police  after 
he  had  been  at  one  place  for  months.  He  had  one  leg  in 
a  hole  in  a  coal-hole  cover,  and  had  an  artificial  leg  ex- 
tended in  its  place.  Blindness  is  simulated  by  folding 
the  upper  lids  upwards — a  simple  trick — and  turning  the 
eyeballs  upward.  It  is  a  difficult  pose  to  maintain,  but 
it  produces  a  sympathy-arousing  though  repulsive  appear- 
ance. Actual  blindness  may  result  from  this.  If  the 
beggar  wants  to  produce  a  woeful  appearance  without 
other  infirmity  he  eats  soap  for  a  few  days.  His  face 
becomes  sallow  and  dark  rings  form  under  the  eyes. 
These  rings  can  be  produced  artificially.  To  these  are 
added  a  hollow  cough,  a  sad  expression,  tattered  clothing 
which  is  several  sizes  too  big  for  him,  and  the  beggar 
appears  to  be  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption.  His 
appearance  arouses  sympathy  and  he  gets  enough  in  a 
few  days  to  recuperate  for  a  month. 

The  most  profitable  form  of  deformity  is  the  hunch- 
back. This  can  be  produced  artificially  by  strapping  a 
pad  between  the  shoulder  blades,  raising  the  shoulders 
and  allowing  the  head  to  sink  into  the  characteristic  posi- 
tion of  the  hunchback.  It  is  only  applicable  to  a  small 
man. 


200 


THE  WRETCHES 


The  hunchback  stands  at  the  entrance  to  pool  rooms 
and  race  tracks  and  allows  the  sports  to  rub  his  back  for 
a  consideration.  They  think  it  is  lucky  to  rub  the  hunch 
of  a  hunchback  and  pay  for  the  privilege. 

The  beggar  who  does  not  dei)end  upon  infirmities, 
but  relies  upon  appropriate  pleas,  is  the  artist  of  his 
calling. 

He  must  understand  human  nature,  must  be  able  to 
read  faces  and  must  have  a  plausible  excuse  for  his  ap- 
peal, whatever  form  the  plea  may  take.  He  will  not 
accost  a  man  in  a  hurry,  for  the  latter  will  not  stop  "to 
listen  to  him.  Neither  will  he  stop  the  man  who  walks 
along  leisurely  with  coat  buttoned  up  and  hands  in  his 
pocket,  looking  about  him,  for  that  man  is  a  sightseer 
who  has  heard  of  the  wickedness  of  the  Bowery  and  sees 
in  any  one  who  attempts  to  stop  him  a  probable  high- 
wayman. 

An  appeal  to  a  foreigner  is  wasted  unless  made  in 
the  foreigner's  language. 

The  flashily-dressed  man  with  a  self-contented  smile 
is  probably  a  sport  in  luck  and  an  appeal  to  him  for  the 
price  of  a  drink  will  succeed,  while  an  appeal  for  enough 
to  pay  for  a  night's  lodging  will  fail.  The  same  appeal 
works  well  with  a  lot  of  young  men  out  for  a  good  time, 
especially  if  one  or  two  are  already  in  a  convivial  humor. 

The  brawny  westerner  with  wide-brimmed  hat  and 
open  coat,  who  has  come  to  see  how  bad  the  Bowery 
really  is,  is  also  the  likely  donor  of  the  price  of  a  drink. 


THE  WRETCHES 


201 


When  a  man  has  had  a  drink  or  two  he  is  in  good 
humor  and  will  listen  to  an  appeal.  The  best  time  to 
strike  him  is  on  a  Saturday  night  when  he  has  his  week's 
wages  in  his  pocket.  When  he  has  had  a  few  drinks  he 
will  be  either  liberal  or  combative.  In  either  case  the 
appeal  for  a  drink  will  be  more  likely  to  succeed  than  any 
other. 

The  appeal  for  alms  for  a  sick  wife  or  child,  or  ''just 
out  of  the  hospital,"  or  for  a  night's  lodging  does  not 
work  well  with  men  on  the  Bowery.  The  sick  wife  story 
may  work  well  with  a  man  dressed  in  mourning  and  the 
*'just  out  of  the  hospital"  is  usually  given  to  elderly  men. 
These  or  the  appeal  for  enough  to  get  a  meal  is  usually 
tried  on  young  couples.  If  they  are  not  married  the  plea 
is  usually  successful,  as  the  young  man  will  then  try  to 
impress  his  companion  with  his  generosity  and  good  na- 
ture. If  he  is  married  he  will  show  her  that  he  is  eco- 
nomical by  refusing  to  give  the  beggar  anything. 

Women  are  more  easily  handled  by  beggars  than  men. 
The  woman  who  is  on  her  way  to  and  from  work,  the 
woman  with  bundles  in  her  arms  and  the  woman  in  a 
hurry  are  avoided.  If  the  beggar  has  a  sickly  appear- 
ance the  most  successful  plea  with  women  is  for  carfare 
to  go  to  the  hospital.  Elderly  women  are  easily  im- 
pressed by  the  story  of  a  sick  mother,  a  starving  family 
or  "just  out  of  the  hospital,"  while  the  younger  women 
respond  more  readily  to  a  sick  wife  or  children  story. 
The  night's  lodging  appeal  works  well  in  the  evening 


202 


iHE  WRETCHES 


when  the  beggar  shows  a  probable  donor  that  he  has 
eight  cents,  and  he  needs  two  cents  more  to  secure  his 
bed.  He  generally  gets  a  nickel  and  in  the  course  of  the 
evening  may  make  half  a  dollar. 

An  appeal  for  food  made  by  a  fairly  well-dressed  indi- 
vidual is  a  profitable  plea  with  women.  The  plea  is  sel- 
dom made  to  men  unless  it  is  genuine,  as  the  man  would 
take  the  beggar  into  a  restaurant  and  pay  for  a  meal. 

There  is  one  trick  that  is  sure  to  elicit  sympathy  and 
nickels  from  women.  The  beggar  rushes  to  the  gutter 
or  to  a  garbage  pail,  picks  up  a  crust  of  bread  and  eats 
it  as  though  he  were  starving.  It  is  an  old  trick,  but  it 
works  on  passers-by,  who  are  duped  into  giving  the 
starving  wretch  enough  to  pay  for  several  meals.  When 
they  are  gone  the  crust  goes  back  into  the  gutter,  to  be 
used  a  few  moments  later  in  the  same  manner  when 
more  women  are  approaching. 

A  plea  which  sometimes  works  with  young  women 
who  want  to  be  philanthropists  but  don't  know  how,  is 
''just  out  of  prison  and  no  home  to  go  to."  The  beggar 
making  that  plea  ought  to  be,  but  rarely  is,  a  convict  or 
ex-convict.  The  real  ex-convict  who  wishes  to  reform 
knows  where  he  can  obtain  work  and  shelter  and  he  will 
not  depend  upon  begging. 

Many  tramps  come  to  this  city  in  the  spring  and  fall 
and  depend  upon  panhandling  or  begging  on  the  streets. 
They  trust  to  intimidation  rather  than  to  skillfully- 
worded  appeals,  and  frequently  fall  afoul  of  the  police. 


THE  WRETCHES 


203 


They  will  hold  up  individuals  for  the  price  of  a  drink  or 
to  ''rush  the  growler,"  but  they  keep  away  from  the  Bow- 
ery district. 

Female  beggars  are  rare  in  Povertyville.  A  woman 
has  so  many  resources  from  which  she  can  obtain  relief 
that  she  has  no  occasion  to  beg,  and  men  have  no  sym- 
pathy with  her. 

Occasionally  one  will  make  a  tour  of  the  Bowery 
stores  carrying  a  child,  perhaps  leading  another,  both 
hired  for  the  purpose,  but  these  wretches  find  a  more 
fruitful  field  in  the  shopping  district.  Their  usual  plea 
is  ''a  poor  widow,"  a  "sick  husband,"  or  ''just  out  of 
the  hospital." 

There  is  a  law  against  begging  in  the  street.  The 
professional  beggar  usually  carries  a  bundle  of  pencils, 
ostensibly  for  sale,  and  thereby  circumvents  the  law. 

Those  who  beg  by  stopping  individuals  on  the  street 
and  appealing  directly  to  them  use  no  subterfuge  to  vio- 
late the  law.  They  do  it  openly,  knowingly  and  willfully. 
If  one  of  this  class  wears  a  soldier's  uniform  he  is  appar- 
ently free  from  arrest,  unless  he  becomes  drunk  and  dis- 
orderly. Others  when  caught  are  charged  with  vagrancy 
and  go  to  Blackwell's  Island. 

There  is  little  science  employed  by  the  petty  criminals 
of  Povertyville.  There  is  often  daring,  some  skill  and 
some  knowledge  of  human  nature  required  in  their  work, 
but  they  are  not  confronted  by  the  serious  problems 
which  the  "big  guns"  or  thieves  are  compelled  to  solve. 


204 


THE  WRETCHES 


The  meanest  and  lowest  in  the  criminal  social  order 
IS  the  ''vogel  grafter"  or  fellow  who  entices  little  chil- 
dren into  hallways  and  robs  them  of  their  earnings, 
capes,  coats,  etc.  He  is  but  little  worse  than  the  thief 
who  steals  door  mats  and  ash  cans.  Somewhat  higher 
in  the  scale  is  the  fellow  who  stops  errand  boys  in  the 
street,  sends  them  on  fictitious  errands  while  he  minds 
their  parcels.  When  the  errand  boy  returns  the  thief 
and  parcel  are  gone. 

More  daring  and  skill  are  required  by  pickpockets. 
These  generally  work  in  ''mobs"  or  gangs  of  three — two 
''stalls"  and  a  "dip."  One  "stalls"  in  front  and  one  be- 
hind the  "sucker"  or  victim,  while  the  "dip"  makes  the 
"touch"  or  theft.  On  car  platforms  the  stalls  stand  at 
the  side  of  the  victim,  the  dip  in  front  apparently  reading 
a  paper.  Considerable  skill  is  required  to  gently  remove 
a  man's  watch  from  his  pocket  and  twist  it  quickly  off 
the  ring.  When  the  "dip  '  is  ready  to  make  the  "touch" 
he  gives  a  low,  hoarse  cough,  or  other  signal.  The  others 
then  stall — that  is,  they  stand  close  to  the  victim  and  a 
little  in  front  of  him  in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot  move 
his  arms  forward ;  they  then  accidentally  push  him  back. 
This  attracts  the  victim's  attention  to  the  stall  and  away 
from  the  dip  who  had  just  jerked  the  watch  from  the 
chain.  The  "super"  or  watch  is  passed  to  a  stall,  who 
hurries  away,  while  the  "dip"  continues  on  the  car.  No 
sign  of  recognition  passes  between  the  members  of  the 
mob  when  at  work.    A  third  stall  is  sometimes  taken 


THE  WRETCHES 


205 


along  to  look  out  for  the  police,  give  the  alarm  and  get 
in  the  way  should  the  dip  be  chased.  They  call  a  detect- 
ive a  bull  or  an  elbow  and  signal  their  companions  that 
one  is  present  by  swinging  an  elbow  forward  or  upward. 
This  is  a  general  sign,  but  mobs  usually  work  out  a  sys- 
tem of  signals  among  themselves. 

The  pickpocket  has  less  difficulty  with  women,  espe- 
cially in  a  crowd.  One  of  the  stalls  attracts  a  woman's 
attention,  another  stall  pushes  her  from  the  opposite  side 
and  in  the  moment  her  attention  is  directed  to  the  second 
stall,  the  dip  has  his  hand  in  her  hand  satchel,  extracting 
her  pocketbook — "leather,"  they  call  it.  \Mien  women 
wore  large  pockets  in  the  side  of  their  dresses  pickpock- 
ets worked  alone.  Now  women  carry  bags  or  satchels  in 
front  of  them  suspended  from  their  wrists,  and  unless 
their  attention  is  diverted  for  a  moment  by  a  stall  they 
would  notice  the  slight  tug  necessary  to  open  the  bag  or 
satchel. 

The  pickpockets  whose  ''graft"  or  dishonest  work  is 
to  rob  women  are  called  "moll  buzzers"  or  "moll  wires." 
The  dip  is  generally  a  youth  in  his  teens.  The  stalls  are 
older.  When  the  dip  becomes  older  and  more  ambitious 
he  takes  up  the  more  hazardous  work  of  lifting  "supers" 
and  pocketbooks  from  men.  The  Bowery  furnishes  most 
of  the  pickpockets,  but  they  work  principally  in  the  shop- 
ping district,  on  the  cars,  at  the  bridge  entrances  and 
wherever  crowds  collect. 


206 


T  II  LI  WRETCHES 


The  sneak  thief  is  also  a  product  of  Povertyville. 
He  generally  works  alone,  without  a  prearranged  plan, 
and  depends  upon  the  opportunity  to  make  a  ''touch." 
When  engaged  in  "housework"  (burglary)  or  "till  tap- 
ping" (robbing  money  drawers)  a  pal  or  companion  is 
necessary  and  plans  must  be  made  in  advance.  Either, 
however,  can  be  done  alone  if  the  opportunity  presents 
itself. 

It  is  a  poor  and  desperate  criminal  indeed  who  would 
attempt  burglary  in  Povertyville.  The  prospective  booty 
is  slight,  the  danger  of  capture  greater  than  if  attempted 
in  wealthier  and  less  populous  districts,  and  the  punish- 
ment is  as  severe.  (Burglary  in  criminal  law  is  the 
breaking  and  entering  a  house  with  criminal  intent  at 
night.    The  same  offense  committed  by  day  is  larceny.) 

The  "house  worker"  works  alone  by  day.  He  will 
go  through  a  house  pretending  to  be  the  directory  man 
or  a  peddler  of  gas  tips  or  some  other  small  article  that 
he  can  carry  in  his  pocket.  11  he  finds  a  door  open  and 
no  one  in  the  room  he  will  take  whatever  he  can  lay  his 
hands  on.  Ha  door  is  locked  he  looks  through  the  key- 
hole to  see  if  the  room  is  occupied.  A  glance  at  the 
transom  or  hall  window  will  give  him  the  same  informa- 
tion. A  curtain  over  either  window  shows  that  it  is  not 
an  empty  apartment.  With  a  pick  lock  he  opens  the 
door  and  can  select  the  "swag"  or  booty  at  his  leisure. 

In  a  district  where  each  house  is  occupied  by  one 
family  he  enters  through  the  parlor  window  or,  if  a  tene- 


THE  WRETCHES 


207 


ment  is  in  the  rear,  he  will  go  into  the  yard  of  the 
tenement,  climb  the  fence  and  get  into  the  yard  of  the 
house  he  intends  to  burglarize.  On  such  expeditions  he 
is  usually  accompanied  by  a  pal,  and  has  prearranged 
plans.  By  standing  on  his  pal's  shoulders  he  can  reach 
the  window  of  the  back  parlor,  and  from  there  he  makes 
his  way  through  the  house.  The  pal  at  once  returns  to 
the  tenement  yard  and  hurries  to  the  front  of  the  house. 
The  thief  collects  whatever  of  value  he  can  find  and  goes 
out  through  the  front  door.  \Mien  a  big  robbery  in  a 
private  house  is  contemplated  an  accomplice  in  the  house 
is  desirable,  even  necessary. 

This  requires  time,  patience  and  money,  and  it  is  gen- 
erally done  by  forming  the  acquaintance  of  one  of  the 
servants. 

The  girls  are  more  gullible  than  the  men,  will  listen 
to  flattery,  accept  an  invitation  to  go  to  a  place  of  amuse- 
ment followed  by  a  dinner,  and  though  it  may  take  weeks 
or  months,  she  will  divulge  the  location  of  the  jewel  case, 
the  precautions  taken  against  burglars,  the  habits  of  the 
members  of  the  family  and  the  customary  hours  of  din- 
ing and  retiring.  She  may  even  consent  to  leave  the 
front  door  open  on  the  appointed  evening,  making  the 
work  of  the  thief  simpler. 

The  sneak  thieves  of  Povertyville  have,  however, 
neither  the  time,  money,  nor  **nerve"  to  work  such  big 
game.  More  often  they  will  bring  a  letter  to  the  house 
and  while  the  girl  or  butler  carries  the  letter  to  the  mis- 


208 


THE    \V  RIl  TC  II  ES 


tress  of  the  house  the  thief  will  deeamp  with  the  coats 
and  umbrellas  on  the  hat  rack,  or  some  articles  from  the 
parlor.  Another  favorite  game  is  to  find  out  at  what 
hour  the  master  of  the  house  usually  returns  from  busi- 
ness, call  at  the  house  about  half  an  hour  before,  present 
a  card  or  letter  and  request  that  he  be  permitted  to  await 
the  master's  return.  The  request  is  usually  granted  but 
before  the  latter  arrives  the  thief  has  departed  with  some 
articles  of  value.  This  trick  is  frequently  practiced  in 
physicians'  offices,  women  as  well  as  men  working  this 
easy  graft. 

Little  craft,  skill  or  courage  is  required  in  delivering 
fictitious  telegrams  or  packages  and  collecting  charges 
for  the  same.  Notwithstanding  the  repeated  expose  of 
this  game  it  is  one  of  the  most  successful  of  all  dishonest 
Avays  of  making  money.  A  young  man  wearing  a  tele- 
graph messenger's  uniform  delivers  a  telegram  written 
upon  the  ordinary  blank  which  anyone  can  obtain  in  the 
telegraph  office,  enclosed  in  an  envelope  similar  to  the 
regular  envelopes  in  which  messages  are  delivered.  The 
charges  written  on  the  envelope  are  anywhere  from 
twenty-five  cents  to  a  dollar.  He  collects  the  charges 
before  delivering  the  envelope.  The  message  may  be 
some  ironical  remark  about  the  recipient's  gullibility. 
Packages  containing  sawdust  or  bricks  are  delivered  in 
the  same  way,  the  person  delivering  the  package  wearing 
the  uniform  of  a  telegraph  messenger  or  expressman.  A 
trick  which  is  very  successful  around  the  Christmas  holi- 


THE  WRETCHES 


209 


days  is  worked  as  follows :  A  few  minutes  after  the 
delivery  wagon  of  a  department  store  has  delivered  a 
parcel  at  a  residence  an  expressman  enters  with  another 
parcel,  states  that  the  one  just  delivered  was  wrongly 
addressed  and  he  had  the  one  which  belonged  there.  He 
departs  with  the  parcel  first  delivered  and  leaves  his  own, 
which  contains  sawdust  or  rags. 

Many  physicians  have  been  victims  of  the  following 
trick:  The  physician  is  called  to  a  patient  some  distance 
from  his  office.  Soon  after  the  doctor  has  left  the  office 
the  messenger  who  had  called  for  him  returns  and  tells 
the  person  at  the  door  that  the  doctor  had  sent  him  back 
for  his  instrument  satchel.  The  messenger  receives  it 
and  hurries  away.  The  doctor  returns  from  a  wild  goose 
chase  and  learns  that  his  instruments  are  gone. 

Till-tapping  has  become  unprofitable  since  the  intro- 
duction of  the  cash  register,  still  it  is  occasionally  prac- 
ticed in  stores  where  there  is  no  such  safeguard. 

In  bakeries,  groceries  and  butcher  shops  where  the 
principal  business  is  done  in  the  morning,  the  noon  hour 
is  selected;  in  other  stores,  before  closing. 

A  stall  engages  the  proprietor  in  conversation  and 
manages  to  get  him  out  of  the  store  or  in  a  corner.  By 
pretending  to  be  the  building  inspector  and  showing  a 
badge  the  stall  has  an  opportunity  to  go  into  the  cellar, 
and  call  the  proprietor  out  of  the  store  to  accompany  him. 
The  tapper,  usually  a  boy,  sneaks  in,  gets  behind  a 
counter,  opens  the  till,  takes  all  the  bills  he  can  grasp, 


210 


THE    Jl-RE  TCIl  ES 


and  runs  out ;  if  there  is  an  open  rear  window  or  side 
door  he  goes  out  that  way.  If  the  proprietor  ''gets  wise" 
or  finds  out  that  he  is  being  robbed,  the  stall  ''slugs"  or 
hits  him  on  the  head  and  runs  away. 

Shoplifting  is  the  female  criminal's  special  graft,  al- 
though many  of  Povertyville's  sneak  thieves  work  it.  It 
requires  little  skill  or  daring  and  the  men  who  work  it  are 
considered  among  the  "cheap  guns"  or  petty  thieves.  Some 
female  shoplifters  are  skillful  in  secreting  the  plunder 
and  audacious  in  their  work.  They  invariably  wear  a 
long  cloak  or  coat  under  which  the  stulT  is  hidden.  \Mien 
one  wears  a  cloak  she  sews  a  few  hooks  on  the  inside  or 
has  pockets  in  it  into  which  the  things  are  dropped.  One 
hook  is  sewed  inside  near  the  edge,  and  while  standing 
near  the  counter  she  dextrously  fastens  some  article  to 
the  hook  and,  partly  turning,  the  article  is  swept  inside 
the  cloak,  her  hands  being  exposed.  ^Mlen  she  leaves 
the  counter  the  stolen  article  goes  into  a  pocket  or  on 
another  hook.  Shoplifters  who  work  in  the  shopping 
districts  w'ork  alone,  preferably  at  the  bargain  counters. 
The  high-class  shoplifters  wdio  work  jewelry,  silk  and 
fur  stores,  and  these  departments  in  the  department 
stores,  work  in  pairs.  They  dress  well,  act  well  and  make 
a  good  appearance,  frequently  come  in  a  carriage  and 
make  a  great  display  of  money.  They  do  not  live  or 
work  in  Povertyville. 

Most  of  the  "shovers  of  the  queer,"  or  passers 
of   counterfeit   money,   are   residents   of  Povertyville. 


THE  WRETCHES 


211 


Nearly  all  the  counterfeit  coin  is  handled  by  Italians, 
who  pass  it  singly  in  small  trade  in  which  they  receive 
change.  There  is  little  business  done  in  selling  coun- 
terfeit coin  in  bulk.  Much  is  passed  upon  huck- 
sters and  store  keepers,  but  little  goes  over  the  saloon 
bars.  Nor  is  there  any  trade  in  counterfeit  bills  in  Pov- 
erty ville.  What  counterfeit  bills  come  into  the  district 
are  brought  in  accidentally  by  persons  ignorant  of  the 
fact  until  apprised  thereof.  Such  bills  are  generally 
passed  in  saloons.  Bartenders  will  sometimes  accept  a 
counterfeit  bill  at  a  discount,  pocketing  the  difference. 
The  bill  is  placed  in  the  drawer,  and  is  either  passed  in 
the  course  of  business  or  given  to  the  beer  collector. 

The  more  ambitious  criminals,  burglars,  forgers,  and 
what  are  known  as  "big  guns"  or  "number  one  men,"  do 
not  work  or  live  in  Povertyville,  but  there  are  many 
"crooks"  or  professional  rogues  in  the  district. 

It  is  impossible  to  name  all  the  tricks  of  the  wretches 
who  live  by  craft.  New  tricks  are  worked  and  new 
games  are  played  every  day  by  men  who  live  by  their 
wits;  many  are  ingenious,  some  within  the  letter  of  the 
law,  yet  as  fraudulent  as  forgery.  Some  old  games  have 
been  given  a  world-wide  publicity,  yet  find  victims  in 
credulous  farmers  and  rural  merchants,  while  new  varia- 
tions are  often  successfully  worked  upon  "wise"  city 
folks. 

The  gold  brick  game,  one  of  the  most  profitable  swin- 
dles known,  has  been  worked  ever  since  the  California 


212 


THE  WRETCHES 


gold  miners  returned  to  Xew  York  with  lumps  of  gold 
in  the  early  fifties.  The  swindler  procures  a  brick  or 
cone  of  brass,  it  is  thinly  plated  with  gold  to  withstand 
the  acid  test,  and  then  two  or  three  borings  made  which 
are  then  filled  with  gold.  A  "sucker"  or  victim  is  found 
who  is  willing  to  buy  a  brick  of  gold  ''dropped  from 
the  wagon  going  to  the  mint."  The  brick  is  worth 
$2,000,  but  ]\Ir.  Jay  can  have  it  for  $500.  An  ac- 
complice has  an  office  with  the  word  ''assayer"  on  the 
door.  The  seller  and  the  victim  go  to  the  assayer,  who 
removes  one  of  the  gold  plugs  and  pronounces  it  pure 
gold.  Another  plug  is  removed  and  taken  to  another 
assayer,  a  reputable  one  this  time,  and  this  is  pronounced 
genuine.  The  deal  is  consummated  in  the  office  of  the 
pretended  assayer.  ^Ir.  Jay  departs,  and  the  swindler 
has  disposed  of  a  fifteen-dollar  brick  containing  ten  dol- 
lars gold  for  five  hundred  dollars.  This  game  works 
better  in  the  west  than  in  New  York,  where  it  has  been 
overdone. 

The  green  goods  swindle  is  still  worked  successfully, 
although  it  has  been  repeatedly  exposed.  The  green 
goods  men  send  out  a  large  number  of  letters  equivocally 
worded,  but  leaving  no  doubt  that  a  deal  in  counterfeit 
money  is  intended,  although  neither  the  word  money  nor 
dollars  is  mentioned.  These  letters  are  sent  to  farmers 
and  country  merchants.  To  those  who  send  a  favorable 
reply,  they  send  a  second  letter,  sometimes  enclosing  half 
of  a  new  one  dollar  bill,  and  offer  a  thousand  like  sample 


THE  WRETCHES 


213 


for  three  hundred,  five  thousand  for  seven  hundred,  ten 
thousand  for  a  thousand.  The  "J^y-"  "Rube"  or  ''Yap," 
as  the  victim  is  called,  has  been  known  to  send  the  cash 
without  further  inquiry.  Of  course,  he  never  hears  from 
his  correspondents  again.  As  a  rule,  however,  he  is  in- 
vited to  come  to  the  city,  and  meet  his  friends  at  some 
hotel.  He  is  given  explicit  directions  how  to  bring  the 
money,  what  name  to  assume,  what  train  to  take,  and 
how  he  will  be  able  to  recognize  the  one  who  is  to  meet 
him  at  the  depot.  The  farmer  follows  the  directions,  is 
taken  to  the  dealer's  room,  and  is  shown  a  bundle  of  good 
money  and  many  similar  bundles  in  a  trunk.  He  buys  a 
"1,000  for  300,"  "5,000  for  700,"  or  "10,000  for  1,000," 
the  bundles  are  placed  in  the  farmer's  valise  or  bag,  and 
he  departs.  At  home  he  finds  the  bottom  and  top  bills 
are  genuine,  the  rest  is  stage  money.  He  has  been  par- 
ticipating in  a  criminal  transaction,  and  has  no  redress.  A 
variation  of  the  game  is  to  place  genuine  money  in  the 
satchel  in  the  victim's  presence,  and  while  his  attention 
is  diverted  for  a  moment  a  dummy  satchel  is  put  in  the 
place  of  the  other. 

Any  game  by  wdiich  a  person  is  swindled  is  really  a 
bunco  game.  Usually  the  name  is  applied  to  a  scheme  by 
which  a  stranger  is  lured  into  a  house  by  a  decoy  and 
there  fleeced  by  the  confederate. 

Mr.  Jay  may  be  accosted  on  the  street  by  a  stranger 
who  asks  him  the  direction  to  some  street.  Air.  Jay 
shows  by  his  ignorance  that  he  is  a  stranger  in  the  city, 


214 


THE    W RETCHES 


and  'Wv.  Bunco  Steerer  finds  an  excuse  for  continuing 
the  conversation,  learns  where  he  is  from  and  where  he 
is  stopping.  If  Mr.  Jay  is  loquacious  he  will  give  his 
name  and  the  business  that  has  brought  him  here.  If  he 
has  been  simple  enough  to  give  the  steerer  this  informa- 
tion he  may  learn  that  the  gentleman  he  is  talking  to  is 
the  president  of  the  bank  in  the  next  town,  or  that  his 
new  acquaintance  is  here  on  an  errand  similar  to  his  own. 
More  often  after  Mr.  Steerer  has  learned  Air.  Jay's 
name  he  will  leave  him,  and  a  few  minutes  later  Mr. 
Jay  will  be  hailed  by  someone  who  knows  his  name  and 
comes  from  an  adjoining  village.  A  stranger  in  a  great 
city  is  always  glad  to  meet  someone  from  his  own  neigh- 
borhood, and  Mr.  Jay  is  no  exception.  He  will  accept 
his  neighbor's  invitation  to  drink,  and  go  to  his  room  or 
go  to  his  hotel.  There  he  is  interested  in  a  game  of 
cards  or  in  a  dispute  in  which  bets  are  made.  Air.  Jay 
bets  or  lends  money  to  his  newly-found  friend  to  bet,  or 
will  cash  a  check  for  him,  or  they  may  go  into  the  next 
room  where  a  party  is  playing  cards  and  he  is  induced 
to  join  the  game. 

The  friend  will  win  with  ridiculous  ease,  and  Air. 
Jay  will  try  his  hand.  He  will  win  a  little,  but  the  stakes 
will  suddenly  be  raised  and  Air.  Jay  loses  all  he  has. 

A  more  successful  method  to  gain  the  victim's  con- 
fidence after  it  is  found  that  he  is  a  stranger  in  the  city, 
is  to  follow  him  to  his  hotel  and  there  learn  his  name 
from  the  hotel  register.    This  requires  some  diplomacy. 


THE  WRETCHES 


215 


The  steerer  may  find  it  necessary  to  hire  a  room  in  the 
hotel  to  learn  what  room  Mr.  Jay  occupies,  then  from 
the  hotel  register  learn  the  name  and  residence  of  the 
occupant,  Mr.  Jay  receives  a  letter  from  the  "nephew  of 
the  president  of  the  bank"  in  ^Ir.  Jay's  town,  inviting 
him  to  call.  The  nephew  has  heard  from  his  uncle  that 
Air.  Jay  was  in  town,  and  wants  to  warn  him  against 
green  goods  men  and  bunco  steerers.  Mr.  Jay  tells  the 
nephew  what  brought  him  here.  Then  the  confederate 
enters,  representing  himself  as  a  lawyer,  stock  broker, 
ranch  owner,  or  any  character  the  occasion  may  require. 
In  whatever  line  the  victim  may  be  interested  and  most 
likely  to  invest  money  the  confederate  is  similarly  inter- 
ested. Air.  Jay  may  take  up  a  mortgage  on  a  farm  which 
has  no  existence,  or  buy  cattle  to  be  delivered  in  a  week, 
or  a  threshing  machine  selected  from  an  agricultural 
catalogue  at  half  price,  to  be  shipped  from  the  factory,  or 
he  may  buy  worthless  mining  stock.  Air.  Jay  may  even 
conspire  with  the  nephew  to  beat  the  imaginary  uncle. 
The  nephew  buys  for  his  uncle  valuable  stock  much  below 
market  price  and  Mr.  Jay  is  to  deliver  the  stock  to  the 
uncle  and  receive  from  him  the  full  price.  Air.  Jay  must 
leave  a  deposit  and  send  the  nephew  half  of  the  profit. 
When  Air.  Jay  returns  home  he  finds  that  the  bank  presi- 
dent has  no  nephew  in  New  York,  the  stock  is  worthless, 
his  purchases  do  not  arrive,  and  he  has  been  buncoed. 

There  are  many  variations  of  this  game.  The  simplest 
form  is  to  inveigle  Air.  Jay  into  a  game  of  cards  with  a 


216 


THE    ]]' RET  CUES 


stranger,  Afr.  Nephew  promising  to  make  good  any  loss 
Air.  Jay  may  have.  Mr.  Nephew  makes  good  with  a  bad 
check. 

A  novel  swindle  has  recently  been  tried  with  suc- 
cess. Mr.  Jay  is  asked  to  sign  a  petition  to  the  legisla- 
ture to  reduce  railroad  fares.  The  petition  is  filled  with 
names  and  only  one  space  is  left  in  which  he  signs  his 
own.  The  blank  space  is  prepared  by  cutting  out  a  piece 
of  the  fictitious  petition  and  passing  underneath  a  blank 
note  or  check.  Air.  Jay  signs  his  name  in  the  blank  space, 
believing  he  has  signed  the  petition.  Air.  Jay  recently  lost 
his  trunk  in  a  hotel  in  this  city  by  this  trick.  He  had  in 
some  (to  him)  unaccountable  way  signed  his  name  to  a 
sheet  of  hotel  stationery.  The  order  for  his  trunk  was 
filled  in  over  his  signature. 

Since  the  Tenderloin  has  become  the  sight-seeing  dis- 
trict of  this  city,  bunco  games  are  seldom  worked  on  the 
Bowery.  The  son  of  Air.  Jay's  old  friend  and  the  nephew 
of  the  president  of  the  bank  find  their  dupes  most  fre- 
quently on  Broadway  and  near  the  ferries,  just  as  credu- 
lous, greedy  and  gullible  as  ever. 

The  real  mock  auction  of  the  Bowery  is  a  thing  of 
the  past. 

Before  stringent  laws  were  made  defining  the  auc- 
tioneer's duties  and  liabilities  and  fixing  a  high  license  fee, 
a  mock  auctioneer  would  hire  a  store  for  a  day  or  two. 


THE  WRETCHES 


2\7 


fill  it  with  all  sorts  of  trash  and  auction  it  off.  Cap- 
pers would  bid  up  the  prices  and  when  a  few  sales  were 
made  at  high  prices  the  place  would  close. 

Plated  watches,  jewelry,  tableware  and  paste  gems 
were  most  frequently  disposed  of. 

The  cheapest  w^atches,  having,  however,  the  name  of 
a  noted  maker  on  the  dial  plate,  in  plated  cases,  were  sold 
as  genuine  Howards,  Jurgensens,  etc.,  in  solid  gold  cases. 

Where  a  place  was  rented  for  a  week  or  a  month  a 
large  stock  was  put  in,  and  after  an  auctioneer  had  made 
a  fraudulent  sale,  he  disappeared  and  one  of  the  cappers 
would  take  his  place.  Cigars  were  sold  in  the  same  man- 
ner. The  auctioneer  would  tell  buyers  they  were  smug- 
gled and  must  be  sold  quickly  before  government  officers 
could  locate  them.  One  would  be  pushed  out  of  a  bundle 
and  given  to  a  prospective  purchaser.  The  latter  would 
try  it,  find  it  good,  and  purchase  the  bundle.  The  cigars 
with  the  exception  of  the  sample,  were  the  vilest  imagin- 
able. 

]Mock  auction  sales  of  cigars  and  trash  are  still  con- 
ducted, but  keep  within  the  letter  of  the  law.  An  accom- 
plice of  the  auctioneer  hires  a  store,  fills  it  with  cheap 
cigars  or  cheap  stuff  intended  for  the  sale.  He  does  a 
legitimate  business  for  a  few  days,  then  the  place  is  sold 
at  auction.  The  sale  itself  is  honestly  conducted,  as  the 
auctioneer  will  not  jeopardize  his  $2,000  bond  by  mak- 
ing misrepresentations.    Whatever  deception  is  practiced 


218 


TIIR  WRETCHES 


is  in  wliat  is  left  unsaid.  The  presence  of  cappers  who 
bid  up  goods,  but  never  buy,  determines  the  character  of 
the  sale. 

The  bunco  schemes  requiring-  a  large  amount  of 
money  to  begin  with,  like  the  green  goods  game,  or  re- 
quiring specially  prepared  rooms  or  apartments,  like  the 
panel  game  and  wire  tapping  game,  are  no  longer  profit- 
able on  the  Bowery,  still  ''suckers"  are  occasionally  caught 
there  while  sightseeing.  The  neighborhood  of  the  Bow- 
ery was  once  a  fruitful  field  in  which  to  work  the  panel 
game.  The  victim  would  visit  a  house  of  ill  fame  and 
place  his  clothes  and  satchel  on  a  chair  or  trunk  near  the 
wall.  A  hole  in  the  wall  was  covered  by  a  picture  or 
lithograph,  and  through  it  the  victim's  clothes  and  satchel 
were  drawn,  rifled  and  returned.  ]\Ien  carrying  much 
money  do  not  visit  such  houses  in  Povertyville  now.  In 
the  wire  tapping  game  the  victim  is  told  that  the  telegraph 
wire  leading  to  a  pool  room  has  been  secretly  tapped,  and 
information  from  the  race  track  is  received  in  time  to  lay 
wagers  in  the  pool  room  after  a  race  has  been  run.  A 
telegraph  receiver  is  placed  in  the  room  and  a  wire  lead- 
ing to  it  comes  in  at  the  window.  The  receiver  is,  how- 
ever, connected  with  a  push  button  under  the  edge  of  the 
table  and  is  worked  by  a  confederate,  while  another  con- 
federate is  waiting  on  the  street,  ostensibly  to  run  to  the 
pool  room  as  soon  as  he  receives  signals  previously  ar- 
ranged between  him,  the  wire  tapper  and  the  victim. 
When  all  is  ready  the  pseudo-telegraph  operator  reads 


THE  WRETCHES 


219 


the  returns  from  the  receiver,  the  victim  is  induced  to 
make  a  large  bet  quickly,  paying  the  money  to  the  two 
men  in  the  room.  The  confederate  on  the  street  receives 
the  signal  and  runs  off.  The  telegraph  operator  goes  out 
to  fix  the  wire,  and  when  he  fails  to  return  the  other  one 
goes  after  him.  When  the  victim  is  tired  of  waiting,  he 
realizes  that  a  "sucker  is  born  every  minute."  The 
badger  game,  though  extensively  worked,  does  not  pay  on 
the  Bowery.  It  is  simply  a  form  of  blackmail.  A  man 
accepts  a  woman's  invitation  to  visit  her  in  her  house, 
and  when  they  are  in  a  compromising  position  the  ''in- 
jured husband"  enters.  The  victim  will  give  all  he  has  ' 
about  him  to  get  out  of  the  scrape.  A  man  who  has  a 
reputation  to  uphold  will  stand  considerable  loss  rather 
than  exposure,  but  if  he  understands  the  game  and  retains 
his  presence  of  mind,  he  will  defy  them. 

If  the  couple  working  this  game  know  that  the  vic- 
tim is  a  man  of  prominence  they  work  it  differently.  She 
gets  the  victim  in  such  a  position  that  a  photograph  can 
be  taken  of  him  in  the  compromising  position.  The 
photograph  is  taken  over  the  transom  or  through  a  panel, 
and  the  negative  becomes  a  permanent  source  of  income. 

Such  photographs  and  compromising  letters  are  the 
principal  tools  of  the  blackmailers. 

Blackmailing  is  a  lost  art  in  Povertyville  since  the 
rich  men,  those  who  can  stand  the  constant  drain,  no 


220 


r  JI 11  WRETCHES 


longer  go  there  for  their  pleasures  and  do  not  become 
involved  with  its  comparatively  plain,  poorly  dressed 
wretches. 

Of  the  many  small  schemes  practiced  in  Povertyville 
to  fleece  the  unwary,  flim-flam  is  the  most  prevalent.  This 
is  a  sleight-of-hand  trick  in  making  change,  by  which  a 
waiter  will  extract  a  bill  after  the  change  has  been  count- 
ed to  the  victim,  or  he  may  fold  a  bill  in  half  and  count 
the  two  ends.  It  cannot  succeed,  if  one  will  count  the 
bills  after  receiving  them  from  the  waiter,  but  the  latter 
has  a  way  of  disappearing  immediately  after  he  has  given 
,    a  customer  short  change. 

If  the  person  has  given  the  waiter  a  large  bill,  the 
waiter  counts  the  change  in  the  patron's  presence,  then  ex- 
tracts the  bottom  bill  as  he  hands  it  over.  If  the  vic- 
tim finds  he  is  flim-flammed  and  complains,  the  waiter 
will  again  take  the  money,  count  it,  make  good  the  de- 
ficiency, and  in  returning  it  will  again  extract  the  bottom 
bill.  Having  seen  the  waiter  return  the  bilj,  the  patron 
is  generally  satisfied  and  puts  the  change  in  his  pocket 
without  recounting  it.  This  occurs  so  often  that  the  flim- 
flammer  invariably  places  a  one  dollar  bill  at  the  bottom 
and  a  larger  bill  next  to  it,  to  be  withdrawn  when  the 
change  is  returned  the  second  time.  One  should  never 
give  a  large  bill,  but  having  done  so  he  should  not  return 
the  change  to  his  pocket  until  he  has  counted  it. 

The  soap  game  is  usually  worked  on  the  Bowery  cor- 
ners.  A  fakir  has  a  satchel  containing  a  number  of  small 


THE  WRETCHES 


221 


boxes,  each  holding  a  cake  of  soap.  When  he  has  col- 
lected a  crowd  he  places  a  ten  dollar  bill  in  one  of  the 
boxes,  throws  it  conspicuously  on  the  top  of  the  heap, 
and  allows  anyone  to  pick  out  three  boxes  for  five  dol- 
lars. A  capper  or  confederate  buys  three  boxes,  includ- 
ing the  one  containing  the  bill,  shows  it  to  the  bystanders 
and  walks  away.  The  operation  is  repeated,  and  a 
''sucker"  picks  out  three  boxes,  including  the  one  he  sup- 
poses contains  the  bill.  The  fakir  had,  however,  palmed 
that  box  and  dropped  an  empty  one  in  its  place.  Some- 
times he  will  place  old  green  beer  barrel  revenue  stamps 
in  a  few  boxes,  and  leave  a  small  corner  of  the  stamp 
exposed  when  the  box  is  closed.  The  box  containing  the 
genuine  bill  never  leaves  his  hand  except  when  the  cap- 
per buys  it.  The  three  card  monte  men  and  the  shell 
men  have  been  driven  of¥  the  street,  but  they  occasionally 
find  victims  in  its  saloons.  Both  depend  upon  sleight-of- 
hand  tricks  to  beat  the  unwary  bettor.  The  monte  man 
shows  three  cards,  one  a  court  card,  throws  them  on  a 
table  face  downward,  and  bets  that  the  victim  cannot  pick 
out  the  court  card.  A  capper  holds  the  stakes.  The  bet- 
tor rarely  succeeds  in  picking  out  the  right  card,  but  if  he 
does  he  finds  that  the  stakeholder  has  disappeared. 

The  shell  game  is  similar.  The  manipulator  uses  three 
walnut  shells  and  a  pea  which  he  rolls  from  one  shell  to 
the  other.  He  then  bets  a  bystander  that  the  latter  does 
not  know  under  which  shell  the  pea  is.  The  honest  shell 
man  takes  chances,  the  odds  being  two  to  one  in  his 


222 


THE    IV  RE  TCII  ES 


favor.  The  dishonest  shell  man  takes  no  chances.  The 
pea  sticks  to  his  finger  when  it  stops  rolling,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  under  the  shell. 

A  little  sympathy  might  be  bestowed  upon  the  credu- 
lous simpleton  who  is  taken  in  by  the  bunco  man's  plausi- 
ble tale,  but  the  fool  who  plays  cards  or  dice  with  a 
stranger  deserves  none. 

There  are  innumerable  ways  by  which  the  profes- 
sional gambler  can  cheat  at  cards.  With  a  novice  he 
will  depend  upon  his  skill  in  shuffling  and  dealing,  and 
so  expert  do  some  gamblers  become  that  they  can  deal 
any  hand  they  wish.  When  they  play  with  more  ex- 
perienced players  who  know  a  trick  or  two  about  stack- 
ing cards  and  crooked  dealing  they  depend  upon  marked 
cards.  In  these  there  is  some  peculiarity  in  the  device 
on  the  back  by  which  they  can  tell  the  face.  The  ordi- 
nary marked  cards  sold  by  dealers  have  a  line  thickened 
or  a  dot  misplaced,  the  position  indicating  the  face. 
These  are  well  known  to  professional  players,  and  the 
dishonest  gambler  will  use  an  honest  deck  to  which  he 
will  add  the  marks  himself. 

It  matters  not  what  game  the  novice  plays  with  the 
professional  gambler,  he  will  be  fleeced.  He  has  some 
chance  in  a  gambling  house  in  games  where  paraphernalia 
is  used,  and  the  house  is  satisfied  with  the  ordinary  per- 
centage which  falls  to  it.  There  are,  however,  crooked 
apparatus  by  which  the  percentage  in  favor  of  the  house 
can  be  enormously  increased. 


THE  WRETCHES 


223 


When  the  city  is  run  open  and  gambhng  houses  spring 
up  all  over  town,  those  on  the  Bowery  use  these  jcrooked 
appHances.  At  present,  when  the  few  gambHng  houses 
in  the  district  are  run  as  clubs,  and  none  but  the  members 
can  enter,  the  games  are  run  straight,  and  the  novice,  if 
he  can  get  in,  stands  some  chance  for  his  money. 

There  are  tricks  in  dice-throwing  by  which  the  uniniti- 
ated can  be  as  readily  fleeced  as  with  cards.  There  are 
two  forms  of  crooked  dice,  loaded  and  shaped,  the  former 
heavier  on  one  side,  the  latter  slightly  rounded  on  one 
or  more  sides.  An  expert  can  manipulate  such  dice  with 
sufficient  dexterity  to  overcome  the  weight  and  shape. 

Where  the  stakes  are  big  sleight-of-hand  tricks  are 
tried,  the  victim  using  dice  loaded  or  shaped  to  throw 
low,  his  opponent  using  dice  shaped  or  loaded  to  throw 
high.  Even  wise  city  folks  are  sometimes  inveigled  into 
buying  articles  which  the  "con"  (confidence  man)  has 
just  picked  up.  As  the  victim  walks  along  he  .sees  a  man 
crossing  the  street,  then  suddenly  stooping,  pick  up  from 
the  gutter  a  diamond  ring.  The  man  offers  to  sell  the 
ring  to  the  victim,  telling  him  that  as  he  must  leave  the 
city  he  cannot  wait  for  the  reward  which  will  certainly 
be  offered  for  its  return.  All  the  victim  pays  over  five 
cents  is  clear  gain  for  the  "con,"  who  had  placed  the  ring 
in  the  gutter.  The  operator  may  pick  up  a  well-filled 
pocketbook  or  a  wallet,  and  show  that  it  contains  a  roll 
of  bills.  On  the  same  plea,  that  of  leaving  the  city, 
he  disposes  of  his  find.    The  outside  bill  is  a  genuine 


224 


THE    ]V  RETCHES 


one  dollar  bill,  tlic  rest  is  green  ])aper.  Mr.  *'Con"  may 
offer  to  sell  a  gold  wateh  which  he  says  he  had  just 
"swiped."  The  stranger  wdio  may  pay  five  dollars  for 
what  appears  to  be  worth  ten  times  that  amount,  finds 
out  too  late  that  the  watch  is  plated,  and  costs  sixty  cents. 

Notwithstanding  the  repeated  exposes  of  the  tricks 
and  games  practiced  by  bunco  men  and  gamblers,  they 
find  victimes  continually,  using  the  same  old  methods 
w'hich  caught  the  fathers  and  grandfathers  of  the  present 
generation.  But  new  games  are  devised  every  day,  and 
it  is  only  by  suspecting  the  motive  of  every  stranger  who 
wishes  to  befriend,  by  refusing  to  be  inveigled  into  any 
scheme  or  game,  by  declining  to  buy  anything  unless  one 
know^s  the  actual  value  of  his  purchase  and  receives  it 
before  he  show^s  his  money,  that  one  is  safe  from  craft 
and  fraud. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SIDE  LIGHTS. 


THE  wretches  of  Povertyville  who  were  accustomed 
to  good  clothes  and  clean  surroundings  retain  a 
sense  of  neatness  until  they  part  with  their  last  white 
shirt.  Even  then  some  try  to  retain  an  air  of  respecta- 
bility, and  by  begging  or  borrowing  obtain  enough  money 
to  buy  a  rubber  or  celluloid  shirt  front,  collar  and  cuffs, 
using  the  strips  of  their  last  white  shirt  for  ties. 

Some  become  quite  expert  with  the  needle  and  can 
hem  edges  as  neatly  as  a  seamstress.  They  repair  their 
clothing,  sew  up  rips  and  tears,  put  on  patches,  let  out 
seams  and  make  alterations  that  lie  within  the  province 
of  the  tailor.  Shakespeare  might  have  had  such  as  these 
in  mind  when  he  wrote,  *'One  touch  of  nature  makes  the 
whole  world  kin,"  for  here  we  find  the  man  who  could 
wield  the  pen,  handle  a  yacht  or  build  an  engine,  become 
equally  expert  wdth  the  needle  and  thread.  One  touch 
of  poverty  makes  tailors  of  them  all. 

How  to  obtain  clothing  is  one  of  the  serious  problems 
which  confront  the  penniless  yet  fastidious  wretch.  As 
he  cannot  afford  to  buy  new  clothes  he  must  fall  back 
upon  second-hand,  refurbished  wearing  apparel.  A  new 
(second-hand)  hat  costs  from  fifteen  to  fifty  cents,  but 


226 


THE    ]V  RETC  U  RS 


the  hat  racks  in  the  restaurants  generally  furnish  a  choice 
selection.  The  exchange  of  hats  in  the  restaurants  and 
barber  shops  is  a  common  mode  of  obtaining  better  head- 
gear. Strips  of  muslin  or  flannel  wrapped  around  the 
feet  form  a  substitute  for  socks,  but  nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  shoes.  These  are  heeled,  soled,  patched  and 
sewed  as  long  as  sole  and  upper  will  hold  together. 
When  the  wretch  is  in  luck  he  will  buy  a  second-hand 
pair  in  the  "Bay"  (Baxter  Street)  for  fifty  cents.  The 
dealer  charges  a  dollar,  the  wretch  ofifers  a  quarter  and 
they  compromise  on  fifty  cents.  That  is  the  usual  price 
and  the  usual  method  of  dealing,  although  poor  fits,  odd 
sizes  and  other  flaws  reduce  the  price. 

When  he  cannot  afford  to  buy  a  pair  he  will  have  a 
patch  nailed  over  the  hole  in  the  sole  for  ten  cents,  or  new 
heels  put  on  for  fifteen  cents.  When  the  sole  and  vamp 
threaten  to  part  company  the  cobbler  hammers  in  a  few 
nails  and  harmony  is  restored  at  the  small  cost  of  five 
cents.  To  mend  a  tear  which  needle  and  thread  can 
repair  costs  nothing — the  wretch  does  that  himself.  The 
simplest  way  to  obtain  clothing  is  to  beg  for  cast-off 
clothing  from  a  charitable  society.  There  are  several 
which  collect  and  distribute  clothing,  but  most  of  them 
require  references.  The  poor  devil  who  has  had  the 
foresight  to  attend  mission  meetings  frequently  will  be 
known  to  the  conductor  of  the  mission  and  can  then  use 
him  as  reference. 


THE  WRETCHES 


227 


If  he  can  afford  to  spend  a  dollar  or  two  he  will  go 
to  the  Bay  and  buy  a  good  suit,  one  that  has  been  re-dyed 
and  altered  so  that  the  original  owner  cannot  recognize 
it.  ]\Iuch  cast-off  clothing  and  most  of  the  clothing 
which  leaves  the  owner  without  his  knowledge  or  consent 
find  their  way  into  the  Bay.  Overcoats  cost  from  fifty 
cents  to  a  dollar ;  underwear,  ten  to  twenty-five  cents. 

Laundry  work  is  another  serious  problem  with  fas- 
tidious fellows.  Some  reserve  their  only  white  shirt  for 
special  occasions.  The  celluloid  or  rubber  collars,  cuffs, 
and  shirt  fronts  require  only  the  application  of  a  damp 
cloth  to  restore  their  gloss  and  whiteness. 

Underwear,  however,  must  be  washed  occasionally 
and  many  do  that  work  themselves.  Some  lodging 
houses  have  drying  rooms  where  the  lodgers  can  wash 
and  dry  their  clothes.  If  the  poor  devil  is  stopping  at  a 
lodging  house  which  has  not  these  conveniences  he  does 
his  laundry  work  in  his  wash  basin.  He  soaks  the 
underwear  in  hot  water  for  a  few  minutes,  rubs  them  with 
soap,  rinses  them  a  few  times  in  cold  water,  wrings  them 
out  with  his  hands  and  hangs  them  around  the  steam  pipe, 
heater  or  stove.  This  is  done  at  night  and  in  the  morn- 
ing they  are  dry.  To  straighten  out  the  folds  and  wrin- 
kles the  wash  is  placed  between  the  sheet  and  mattress 
for  an  hour,  during  which  he  occupies  the  bed.  Neces- 
sity is  the  mother  of  invention. 

The  female  wretches  of  Poverty ville  have  little  diffi- 
culty  in   replenishing   their   wardrobes.    They  depend 


228 


THE    W  RE rCH  ES 


mainly  upon  the  generosity  of  their  lovers,  but  for  ex- 
pensive finery  they  go  to  the  department  stores  and  help 
themselves  when  the  watchers  are  not  looking.  As  the 
well-dressed  women  are  more  successful  in  their  vocation 
than  the  shabbily-dressed  ones,  outer  garments  are  part 
of  their  trade  stock.  Their  dresses  are  cast-off  or  stolen 
and  altered,  and  obtained  either  directly  from  a  fence  or 
from  a  second-hand  clothing  store. 

The  wretches  are  charitable  among  themselves  and 
help  each  other  in  adversity,  but  they  rarely  apply  to 
charities.    As  a  last  resort  they  go  to  the  Salvation  Army. 

The  ordinary  women  of  the  street  are  careless  about 
their  wardrobe  except  the  outer  wear.  Cloaks,  waists 
and  skirts  are  mended,  but  other  wearing  apparel  is 
allowed  to  become  rags,  pinned  together.  They  are 
cleanly  about  their  persons  but  indifferent  about  their 
surroundings.  They  will  not  sweep  their  rooms,  clean 
windows,  nor  make  up  beds  except  in  a  slipshod  manner, 
nor  will  they  do  anything  requiring  physical  exertion 
which  can  be  left  undone.  Their  moral  and  their  aesthetic 
sense  are  on  a  par.  When  they  reach  that  stage  where 
they  can  no  longer  attract  a  patron,  they  become  indif- 
ferent to  their  appearance  and  person,  going  in  rags 
until  supplied  with  new  clothing  in  the  workhouse. 
It  may  be  mentioned  incidentally  that  clothes  and  shoes 
are  repaired  in  the  prison  shops. 

The  petty  criminals  of  Povertyville  steal  what  they 
need  either  from  stores  or  from  drunks.    There  is  no 


THE  WRETCHES 


229 


charity  in  that  class  and  they  will  not  help  out  a  friend 
in  need.  What  they  do  not  require  for  their  own  use 
goes  to  a  fence.  They  despise  a  ''sucker,"  or  one  who 
will  allow  himself  to  be  robbed  or  beaten  in  a  game,  and 
they  place  themselves  in  the  same  category  if  anyone  gets 
something  for  nothing  from  them. 

The  wretches  of  Povertyville  have  few  amusements. 
Having  little  need  for  mental  or  physical  recreation,  they 
become  apathetic,  exercise  is  irksome  and  they  drift  along, 
neither  needing  nor  seeking  change  from  their  accus- 
tomed routine. 

They  take  little  interest  in  the  passing  events  of  the 
day  and  only  some  event  of  extraordinar}^  interest  or 
involving  their  own  welfare  will  arouse  them.  Their 
main  pastime  is  gambling  and  this  applies  to  all  classes 
except  those  far  gone  as  drunks  and  pipe  fiends.  These 
find  recreation,  pleasure,  excitement  and  consolation  in 
the  whiskey  glass  or  pipe.  The  men  who  can  afford  it 
go  to  the  pool  rooms  and  gambling  houses  or  play  poker 
in  their  rooms.  The  inmates  of  the  poor  lodging  houses, 
the  beggars  and  tramps  play  cards  or  throw  dice  in  their 
lodging  houses  or  in  saloons.  Games  requiring  mental 
effort  are  rarely  taken  up.  Occasionally  two  men  will 
play  checkers  in  the  sitting  room  of  a  lodging  house,  a 
checker  board  being  marked  off  on  a  table  with  chalk, 
and  black  and  white  buttons  serving  for  pieces. 

Backgammon  is  sometimes  played  when  a  board  can 
be  obtained,  but  dice  are  always  at  hand  and  crap  shoot- 


230 


TIIR  WRETCHES 


ing  is  very  common.  The  possessor  of  a  deck  of  cards 
is  never  without  a  companion  in  a  lodging  house.  The 
cards  are  often  so  disfiourcd  from  frequent  handhng 
that  every  card  is  recognizable  from  marks  on  the  back, 
and  missing  cards  are  replaced  by  pieces  of  card  board 
cut  the  same  size  as  the  cards,  but  these  disadvan- 
tages are  not  taken  into  account.  When  the  players  can 
get  two  decks  pinochle  is  the  favorite  game;  with  one 
deck  poker  is  the  prime  favorite.  The  nominal  stakes 
are  high,  but  the  final  settlement  is  so  small  that  the 
player  who  has  lost  hundreds  of  dollars  pays  in  fact  but 
a  few  cents.  Next  to  poker  come  euchre,  Sancho  Pedro 
and  cribbage. 

In  the  clubs  where  the  wretches  who  allow  dissolute 
w^omen  to  support  them  congregate,  poker  is  the  usual 
game  and  a  single  ''pot"  may  hold  the  earnings  of  sev- 
eral women  for  days.  The  professional  gamblers,  and 
sports  and  criminals  when  in  luck,  play  in  the  gambling 
houses  and  stick  to  faro  and  roulette.  It  is  strange  that 
the  gambler  should  prefer  to  play  roulette,  which,  even 
when  honestly  conducted,  gives  a  decided  percentage  in 
favor  of  the  house,  rather  than  games  giving  equal 
chances.  Policy  was  formerly  tJie  game  of  Povertyville, 
and  many  a  too-confident  votary  of  the  horse,  gig,  saddle 
and  cap  in  policy  has  thereby  been  driven  to  join  the 
army  of  wretches.  The  active  work  of  the^  anti-policy 
society  in  New  York  has  almost  entirely  eradicated  this 
evil  and  has  prevented  untold  misery  and  wretchedness 


THE  WRETCHES 


231 


in  poor  homes.  The  wretches  who  formerly  played  pol- 
icy now  play  other  games,  but  the  wives  and  children  of 
the  workingmen  in  the  tenement  districts,  who  formerly 
stinted  themselves  for  clothes  and  food  in  order  to  buy 
the  deceptive  slips,  now  buy  instead  the  necessities  of  life. 

Many  in  whom  the  gambling  habit  has  not  been  en- 
tirely squashed  by  the  exposure  of  the  policy  fraud  now 
buy  lottery  tickets.  There  is  still  some  policy  played  in 
the  city,  but  policy  shops  in  Povertyville  have  been  closed 
and  those  who  still  believe  they  can  beat  the  game  get 
their  slips  from  a  runner  or  agent  who  meets  his  victims 
in  a  cigar  store  in  the  morning  and  reports  the  winning 
numbers  in  the  same  place  in  the  afternoon. 

Old-time  sports  occasionally  look  at  the  sporting  bul- 
letins posted  in  saloons  and  discuss  the  merits  of  the  con- 
testants in  coming  sporting  events,  but  unless  they  can 
bet  they  prefer  reminiscences  to  prognostications. 

Many  spend  their  days  in  reading  rooms  and  their 
evenings  in  missions  and  lecture  halls  when  it  is  cold  or 
stormy.  In  pleasant  weather  they  lounge  about  on  park 
benches.  A  few,  and  these  almost  without  exception 
exotics,  go  to  the  reading  rooms  for  mental  recreation. 

The  female  wretches  have  few  amusements.  They 
sometimes  play  pinochle,  casino,  euchre  or  poker  with 
their  lovers,  and  occasionally  take  part  in  a  dance  at  a 
dive.    When  they  go  to  a  theater  it  is  to  find  likely 


232 


THE    W  R  IIT  Clins 


patrons.  The  only  amusement  not  lessened  by  the  hunt 
for  customers  is  the  annual  ball  of  the  club  to  which  the 
lover  belongs. 

During  the  progress  of  a  ball  given  by  one  of  the 
clubs  in  the  Bowery  district  the  dives  are  comparatively 
empty  and  the  street  is  bare  of  women  of  this  class. 

A  strange  trait  in  the  character  of  the  wretclies,  even 
of  the  most  vicious  and  callous,  is  a  deep  sense  of  hu- 
manity which  they  occasionally  exhibit.  The  thug  who 
would  not  hesitate  to  assault  a  police  officer  or  rob  a 
child  will  let  a  priest  pass  without  molestation.  A  phy- 
sician carrying  a  satchel,  on  his  way  to  a  patient,  is  per- 
fectly safe  among  a  gang  of  cutthroats  as  soon  as  they 
know  his  vocation.  The  "vogel  grafter"  or  robber  of 
little  children  has  some  standing  among  his  class,  but  let 
him  assault  or  hurt  a  child  and  his  best  friend  would 
turn  against  him.  They  have  little  respect  for  women 
and  show  little  consideraion  for  the  aged,  but  they  will 
shield  and  protect  the  young.  When  they  find  a  boy 
with  vicious  proclivities  they  will  endeavor  to  develop 
them,  but  they  will  not  attempt  to  instil  viciousness  into 
a  boy  who  is  naturally  good. 

Most  sneak  thieves  and  burglars  are  superstitious  and 
have  a  fear  of  robbing  a  church.  Not  one  would  rob  a 
church  of  his  own  denomination.  While  irreligious, 
when  they  think  they  are  about  to  die  they  call  for  a 
priest  or  minister.    At  all  other  times  they  reject  re- 


THE  WRETCHES 


233 


ligious  teachings  altogether  or  receive  them  with  the  idea 
that  it  may  come  in  handy  in  their  work. 

Some  of  the  women  go  to  church  and  are  there  quite 
devout,  but  their  idea  of  the  golden  rule  is,  "Do  others 
lest  others  do  you." 

Heroic  actions  performed  by  wretches  are  not  rare. 
They  exhibit  that  form  of  heroism  which  springs  up  sud- 
denly in  an  emergency  and  takes  no  cognizance  of  per- 
sonal danger. 

Few  of  the  wretches  possess  that  courage  which  is 
required  when  the  danger  to  be  encountered  is  known 
and  appreciated  in  advance.  Some  do  perform  fool- 
hardy acts  to  gain  notoriety,  while  many  of  the  sports 
will  not  shrink  from  fist  fights  with  more  powerful  men 
to  gain  a  standing.  Desperation  nerves  the  criminal  to 
attack  a  police  officer  in  his  efforts  to  escape  arrest,  but 
the  young  tough  will  try  to  "do  the  cop"  in  a  spirit  of 
bravado.    If  he  succee^ls  he  is  the  hero  of  his  class. 

Some  classes  among  the  wretches  seek  to  attract  at- 
tention to  themselves,  others  try  to  avoid  it.  The  sport 
wears  a  loud  checked  suit  of  clothes,  the  bunco  man 
makes  a  display  of  jewelry  and  money.  The  pickpocket 
wears  while  at  work  good  clothes  but  inconspicuous 
colors.  The  sneak  thief  is  generally  shabbily  dressed, 
although  he  may  have  a  hundred  dollars  or  more  with 
him  to  be  used  as  "fall  money"  or  money  to  be  paid  to 
a  lawyer  or  for  bail  in  case  of  his  arrest. 


234 


THE  WRETCHES 


The  women  of  the  street  wear  bright  colors,  while  the 
shoplifter  is  most  successful  when  dressed  in  mourning 
or  subdued  colors.  The  poor  devil  has  little  choice  in 
the  matter  of  dress,  but  prefers  such  colors  as  show  dust 
and  wear  least. 

The  wretches,  with  the  exception  of  tramps  and  sots, 
keep  their  faces  in  presentable  condition.  Those  who 
cannot  afiford  the  price  of  a  shave  (five  cents  in  many 
shops)  go  to  a  barber  school  where  they  are  shaved  free 
by  pupils.  Old  professional  beggars  use  a  chemical, 
aurum  pigment,  which  they  mix  with  water,  forming  a 
paste,  and  rub  this  on  their  faces.  In  a  few  moments  this 
is  scraped  off  with  a  piece  of  wood.  The  chemical  burns 
off  the  hair  without  affecting  the  skin.  The  others,  when 
they  can  afford  the  price  of  a  shave,  go  to  one  of  the 
thirty-five  barber  shops  on  the  street,  but  haircutting  is 
generally  done  by  a  friend  in  the  lodging  house  or  by  a 
pupil  of  the  barber  school. 

Gamblers,  sports  and  the  female  wretches  almost 
without  exception  are  superstitious  and  carry  talismans, 
usually  a  ''luck  penny,"  a  cent  of  the  date  of  the  person's 
birth.  They  will  rub  the  hump  of  a  hunchback  for  luck, 
but  if  a  cross-eyed  person  enters  the  room  they  will  leave 
it,  or  if  they  must  remain  they  will  keep  their  fingers 
crossed.  Everyone  has  some  secret  formula  which  is 
repeated  when  a  cross-eyed  person  passes  them,  if  they 
see  a  funeral  approaching  or  if  they  are  obliged  to  pass 
between  two  funeral  carriages.    They  have  dream  and 


THE  WRETCHES 


235 


omen  books,  which  are  consuhed  on  every  possible  occa- 
sion, and  while  they  will  not  go  to  a  fortune  teller — as 
they  fear  the  latter  might  make  some  frightful  prophecy 
— they  have  unbounded  faith  in  their  printed  oracle. 
There  is  little  social  intercourse  among  the  poor  devils  in 
the  lodging  houses.  Gamblers  and  sports  have  many 
acquaintances,  but  few  friends  and  no  intimates.  Crim- 
inals, on  the  other  hand,  have  many  friends  and  nearly 
every  one  has  his  pals  or  intimate  co-workers.  The 
women,  as  a  rule,  have  intimate  female  friends  to  whom 
they  confide  everything  except  the  history  of  their  lives 
before  their  downfall.  They  are  rarely  sincere,  however, 
and  not  one  would  make  any  sacrifice  for  another. 
While  charitable,  as  a  rule,  they  would  do  nothing  for 
another  which  might  endanger  their  own  safety  or  free- 
dom. The  relationship  between  the  women  and  their 
lovers  is  peculiar.  There  is  no  love  or  af¥ection  on  either 
side — nothing  but  a  business  interest.  She  is  the  earner, 
he  is  her  protector.  For  such  protection  she  gives  him 
all  she  earns ;  having  once  accepted  him  as  her  lover  she 
submits  to  his  wishes,  and  the  harsher  he  thereafter  treats 
her  the  more  slavishly  will  she  follow  him.  When  he  is 
tired  of  her  he  turns  her  adrift. 

The  relationship  between  the  criminals  and  their  mis- 
tresses is  more  conjugal.  There  is  generally  love  and 
affection — always  jealousy.  He  may  have  taken  her 
from  the  street,  but  from  the  moment  he  makes  her  his 
"]\Ioir'  she  must  be  faithful  to  him.    In  adversity  he  may 


236  THE  WRETCHES 

send  her  out  on  the  street  to  help  support  the  household, 
but  unless  they  follow  the  blackmailing  or  badger  game 
he  expects  her  to  abide  by  the  same  code  of  ethics  as  if 
they  were  married.  If  he  treats  her  harshly  she  leaves 
him,  while  he,  on  the  other  hand,  turns  her  adrift  if  he 
suspects  that  she  has  been  intimate  with  another  unless 
with  his  consent.  This  peculiar  marital  or  conjugal  rela- 
tionship is  not  based  upon  any  sense  of  morality  or  pro- 
priety, but  upon  selfishness.  They  do  not  respect  the 
honor  of  woman,  for  chastity  is,  in  their  opinion,  not 
due  to  any  moral  sense,  but  to  the  fear  of  consequences. 
The  affection  between  the  criminal  and  his  mistress  is 
more  of  a  Platonic  nature,  their  sexual  relations  being 
of  minor  consideration.  At  the  same  time  he  will  not 
permit  her  to  dispense  her  favors  to  another  unless  busi- 
ness is  bad,  when  he  will  send  her  on  the  street  to  pick  up 
customers.  On  rare  occasions  he  will  lend  her  to  a 
friend  or  exchange  ''Molls"  with  a  pal.  If  he  is  sent  to 
prison  she  will  associate  with  another  criminal,  and  upon 
the  release  of  her  former  companion  she  will  decide  with 
which  one  she  will  remain.  Where  two  or  three  couple 
occupy  a  flat  together  they  form  a  free-love  community 
in  their  sexual  and  housekeeping  relations.  In  other  re- 
spects each  couple  looks  after  its  own  affairs.  They 
never  marry. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  FINAL  ACCOUNTING. 


EW  notice  their  coming,  fewer  still  their  passing 
away. 


The  "rounders,"  "floaters,"  "revolvers,"  as  they  are 
called,  are  not  missed,  although  they  may  have  been  pa- 
trons at  the  same  bar  and  in  the  same  lodging  house  for 
years. 

Out  of  sight  they  are  forgotten — their  places  are  taken 
up  by  new  recruits  who  follow  in  their  footsteps. 

^lost  disappear  as  mysteriously  as  they  came,  a  few 
are  last  seen  in  a  police  patrol  wagon  or  in  an  ambulance, 
a  few  turn  up  again  a  few  years  later  regenerated,  vis- 
itors to  the  haunts  which  sheltered  them  in  darker  days. 

Few  end  their  career  by  their  own  hands — "do  the 
Dutch  act,"  as  they  call  suicide.  It  is  only  in  the  early 
stages  when  the  wretch  has  still  some  sense  of  honor  and 
shame,  some  realization  of  his  degradation,  and  some 
regard  for  his  family,  that  remorse  may  drive  him  to 
end  it  all.  But  he  has  still  hope  left — a  hope  that  some- 
thing will  turn  up  to  better  his  position.  When  hope 
has  fled  he  no  longer  cares  how  long  or  how  short  may 
be  his  span  of  life.  He  has  then  neither  energy  nor  am- 
bition.   So  valueless  does  life  appear  to  him  that  he 


238 


THE    IV  RE  TCH  ES 


would  not  stir  to  save  it,  or  do  aught  to  end  it ;  the  fear 
of  physical  pain  deters  him  from  the  latter  course  and 
rouses  him  when  danger  threatens.  He  would  lie  upon 
the  floor  awaiting  death  did  not  the  pangs  of  hunger 
and  thirst  drive  him  out. 

While  life  has  no  attraction  and  death  no  horror,  yet 
he  dreads  the  momentary  pang  with  which  he  believes 
death  is  associated.    This  wretch  never  commits  suicide. 

Almost  all  the  wretches  who  go  down  through  drink 
end  their  days  in  the  wards  of  Bellevue  or  the  Peniten- 
tiary Hospital.  Either  Bright's  disease  or  cirrhosis  of 
the  liver  carries  them  off. 

Occasionally  one  is  found  dead  in  his  bed  or  on  the 
street,  or  too  ill  to  work,  is  carried  to  the  police  station, 
put  in  a  cell,  **drunk"  marked  next  to  his  name  on  the 
blotter  and  "dead"  a  few  hours  later. 

A  frequent  cause  of  death  is  the  sudden  and  complete 
deprivation  of  drink  after  a  long  debauch.  The  wretch 
then  sees  things — not  snakes,  as  the  popular  impression 
is,  but  horrible  forms,  devils,  wolves,  headless  bodies — 
a  frightful  phantasmagoria  from  which  he  tries  to 
escape.  It  is  delirium  tremens,  the  D.  T.  of  the  hospital 
record,  which  ends  in  a  stupor,  followed  by  death.  The 
D.  T.  cases  go  to  the  alcoholic  ward  of  Bellevue  Hos- 
pital, the  Bright's  disease  and  cirrhosis  cases  are  usually 
transferred  to  the  City  Hospital.  This  is  the  material 
which  is  furnished  to  the  dissecting  rooms  of  the  medical 
colleges. 


THE  WRETCHES 


239 


A  patient  entering  the  hospital  gives  the  name  of  a 
friend  who  is  to  be  informed  "if  anything  happens." 
The  wretches  have  no  friends  and  when  they  die  there 
are  none  to  mourn  their  loss;  living  unrespected,  they 
die  unregretted. 

Occasionally,  however,  when  a  wretch  realizes  that 
the  end  is  near,  he  will  give  the  name  of  one  who  is  near 
and  dear  to  him,  and  whose  name  he  has  saved  from 
disgrace.  When  all  is  over  he  is  quietly  removed  to  the 
family  vault. 

Some  wretches  are  reclaimed  and  reform.  This  can 
be  done  through  the  power  of  prayer  backed  with  the 
opportunity  and  means  to  remain  reformed.  The  prayer 
is  like  the  varnish  on  the  post.  It  improves  the  appear- 
ance, but  it  is  the  backing  and  not  the  gloss  which  keeps 
the  wretch  up. 

The  young  man  fresh  from  the  country  and  home 
influences,  perhaps  still  carrying  the  little  Bible  his 
mother  gave  him,  is  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  prayer 
until  his  last  nickel  is  gone.  After  that,  the  solid  back- 
ing will  be  necessary  to  sustain  him.  Prayer  no  longer 
will  have  any  power  to  k-eep  him  in  the  straight  and  nar- 
row path. 

When  the  hardened  wretch  professes  conversion  he 
does  so  with  some  mental  reservation  and  an  ulterior  mo- 
tive.   He  is  never  sincere. 

Sometimes  a  passing  incident  in  the  wretch's  life  will 
swerve  him  from  his  course.    The  sight  of  the  dying 


240 


THE  WRETCHES 


ag(jiiy  of  one  who  was  run  over  on  the  Bowery  w^hile 
drunk,  sobered  his  companion  and  reformed  him.  An- 
other was  recognized  by  a  former  college  chum  who  was 
on  a  slumming  expedition.  The  chum  found  the  wretch 
the  next  night  in  a  groggery  and  took  him  in  a  carriage 
to  his  own  home.  A  compulsory  bath,  clean  clothing,  a 
good  room  and  meals,  and  constant  watching  made  a 
man  of  the  wretch  in  a  month. 

One  reformed  thief  ascribes  his  reformation  to  a 
dream  the  nature  of  which  he  will  not  divulge.  Another 
]Mckpocket  was  reformed  through  the  tact  of  a  woman  he 
had  robbed. 

She  offered  a  reward  for  papers  which  were  in  a 
purse  he  had  picked,  and  when  he  came  to  return  the 
papers  she  had  a  lengthy  conversation  wdth  him.  She 
offered  him  work  and  a  substantial  reward  if  he  w^ould 
serve  faithfully  for  a  year,  which  offer  he  accepted. 
There  was  no  word  about  morals  at  the  time,  but  before 
the  year  was  up  he  had  become  a  church  member  and  has 
since  reformed  many  wretches  by  methods  similar  to 
those  employed  by  his  patroness. 

The  Salvation  Army  and  the  A^olunteers  of  America 
have  reclaimed  many  wretches,  some  by  moral  persuasion 
alone,  others  by  aid  when  the  w^retches  came  to  them  in 
distress. 

A  few  have  reformed  after  a  short  time  in  prison, 
The  deterrent  effect  of  the  punishment,  the  sense  of  deg- 
radation produced,  and  later  the  helping  hand  of  the 


THE    WRETCHES  241 

Prison  Association  placing  them  in  a  position  where  they 
could  earn  a  livelihood  away  from  evil  influences  and 
rehabilitate  themselves,  have  restored  some  to  respect- 
ability. 

Lengthy  association  with  the  vicious  and  criminal 
in  prison  destroys  whatever  sense  of  honor  and  shame  a 
man  may  have  left  when  entering  jail.  Upon  his  release 
he  is  a  hardened  and  confirmed  criminal. 

Most  wretches  reform  when  they  are,  or  believe  they 
are,  on  their  deathbed,  but  if  they  recover  they  are  back- 
sliders. The  widower,  drinking  himself  to  death  to  for- 
get his  sorrows,  goes  down  as  a  sot.  So,  too,  the  man 
deserted  by  his  wife,  while  if  he  is  the  deserter  moral 
influence  may  recall  him ;  force,  never. 

The  male  wretches  never  marry  unless  they  reform. 
The  criminals  live  with  their  female  companions  without 
any  regard  for  marriage  ceremonies  or  their  own  legal 
status.  They  demand,  however,  that  the  woman  remain 
faithful  while  the  co-partnership  lasts.  Those  who  live 
on  the  earnings  of  the  women  of  the  street  do  not  marry 
them. 

One  case,  however,  is  known  where  such  a  woman  re- 
formed, succeeded  in  reforming  her  lover,  then  marry- 
ing him.  They  are  now  doing  missionary  work  in  Pov- 
ertyville,  following  the  practical  method  of  handling  indi- 
vidual cases  only;  not  hopeless  sots  or  hardened  crim- 
inals, but  newcomers. 


242 


THE    IV  RE  TCII  ES 


The  old  female  rounders  end  their  days  as  the  same 
class  of  men,  Bright's  disease  or  cirrhosis  carrying  them 
off;  they  rarely  get  delirium  tremens.  They  drop  off  in 
alleyways  or  gutters  or  in  the  wards  of  the  Bellevue, 
City  or  Penitentiary  hospitals. 

Among  the  younger  female  wretches  a  few  reform, 
many  drift  along  for  a  few  years,  become  ill  and  die  in 
the  hospital,  some  become  criminals  or  keepers  of  houses 
of  ill  fame,  a  few  become  sots.  The  gay  and  giddy  take 
up  opium  smoking  with  its  fearful  end.  This  class  never 
reform.  Towards  the  end  one  may  become  the  "wife" 
of  a  Chinaman,  who  will  look  after  her  welfare,  but  her 
end  is  the  same  as  the  usual  end  of  male  smokers — con- 
sumption. Or  one  who  has  not  yet  become  a  confirmed 
smoker,  and  while  she  can  still  overcome  the  "yin/'  may, 
under  stress  of  circumstances,  go  to  a  home  or  reform- 
atory, but  the  old  life  is  too  attractive.  She  goes  back 
to  the  whirl,  to  the  pipe  and  death. 

The  vicious  woman  sometimes  reforms  if  there  be 
dormant  virtues  which  a  tactful  master  can  arouse.  She 
will  not  voluntarily  go  to  a  home  for  fallen  women,  but 
when  in  distress  she  will  steal,  go  to  prison,  and  there- 
after follow  a  criminal  career.  She  will  become  the 
companion  of  a  thief,  faithful  to  him  while  he  treats 
her  well,  dropping  him  if  he  ill  treats  her  or  goes  to 
prison.  Late  in  life  these  young  sinners  become  saints 
if  they  have  the  means,  sots  if  they  have  not. 


THE  WRETCHES 


243 


Those  who  are  instinctively  vicious  take  up  a  crim- 
inal career  early,  never  reform,  and  generally  end  their 
days  in  prison. 

Many  of  the  peripatetic  sisterhood  are  infected  with 
disease  as  the  result  of  the  lives  they  lead,  or  receive 
the  germs  of  such  disease  as  heirlooms.  The  disease 
itself  does  not  cause  death,  but  it  is  a  very  unfavorable 
complication  in  any  other  disease,  and  tends  to  shorten 
their  lives.  Many  die  from  criminal  operations  which 
they  perform  upon  themselves  or  permit  to  be  performed 
upon  them  by  their  companions  or  by  some  physician 
who  makes  a  specialty  of  such  work. 

Most  of  them  wear  wedding  rings,  some  acquired 
in  the  orthodox  way,  with  a  certificate  to  prove  it,  others 
buying  the  rings  for  a  few  cents  at  a  second-hand  jew- 
elry store. 

The  women,  however,  rarely  marry  after  having 
taken  up  their  trade  on  the  street.  Cases  are  known 
where  a  woman  has  insisted  upon  marriage  before  ac- 
companying a  partly-intoxicated  man  to  a  hotel.  In 
these  cases  the  men  were  obliged  either  to  pay  heavy 
blackmail  or  to  use  legal  measures  to  get  rid  of  their  en- 
cumbrance. There  are,  however,  cases  where  reputable 
men  have  married  women  who  had  led  dissolute  lives, 
knowing  their  character,  with  happy  results. 

One  such  woman,  now  highly  respected  and  spending 
her  days  in  works  of  charity  and  practical  philanthropy, 
was  once  the  mistress  of  a  murderer.    Another  whose 


244 


T  H  II    WRli  TC  11  LIS 


early  history  is  as  a  scaled  book  in  the  circles  in  which 
she  now  moves,  is  the  wife  and  mentor  of  a  famous  na- 
tional character. 

One  case  is  well  known  in  Povertyville  on  account  of 
the  standing  of  the  woman's  family,  the  position  of  the 
husband,  and  the  publicity  given  to  the  attending  circum- 
stances. She  forgot  that  a  matinee  idol  was  human  until 
it  was  too  late,  and  her  parents,  learning  of  her  condi- 
tion, turned  her  out  of  the  house.  Soon  after  she  was 
found  in  *'Mrs.  Schneider's"  house,  where,  on  account 
of  her  beauty  and  well-known  history,  she  became  the 
most  popular  inmate  of  the  place.  A  former  admirer 
who  frequently  visited  the  place  after  she  was  there 
made  arrangements  with  Mrs.  Schneider  to  take  her  to 
a  ball,  paying  the  madam  the  highest  charge,  for  which 
the  girl  was  permitted  to  wear  the  best  dress  and  the 
most  expensive  jewelry  the  establishment  possessed.  In- 
stead of  going  to  the  ball,  however,  the  couple  were 
driven  to  Jersey  City,  where  he  had  fitted  up  a  suite  of 
rooms,  and  they  were  married.  He  held  a  small  polit- 
ical office  at  the  time  (he  has  held  higher  ones  since), 
and  his  political  leader  protected  him,  while  madam  qui- 
etly pocketed  her  loss.  He  and  his  wife  have  saved 
many  girls,  situated  as  she  was  once,  from  becoming 
wretches  on  the  street. 

The  wretches  of  the  Tenderloin  and  other  uptown 
districts  have  more  opportunities  to  marry  than  their 
poorer  sisters  of  the  lower  east  side,  as  they  arc,  as  a  rule, 


THE  WRETCHES 


245 


more  attractive,  more  refined,  better  educated,  dress  bet- 
ter and  make  greater  efforts  to  gain  and  retain  the  affec- 
tions of  an  admirer.  The  female  wretches  of  Poverty- 
ville  realize  that  no  respectable  man  would  marry  one 
of  them,  except,  perhaps,  an  old  sweetheart  who  is  still 
infatuated,  or  a  man  who  would  make  the  sacrifice  in  or- 
der to  reform  one.  Sometimes  a  partly  intoxicated  fel- 
low will  make  an  offer  of  marriage,  or  a  pander  will 
make  such  an  offer  so  as  to  live  upon  the  proceeds  of  her 
trade.  Such  offers  are  naturally  rejected.  If  an  offer 
comes  from  the  man  who  first  ruined  her,  she  will  accept 
without  hesitation,  as  he  cannot  reproach  her  later  for 
the  life  she  led,  he  having  made  her  what  she  had  become. 
Fallen  women  invariably  retain  a  kindly  affection  for  the 
man  who  caused  their  downfall.  Despising  men  as  a 
rule,  especially  those  who  hire  them,  they  never  blame 
their  first  lover,  but  always  charge  themselves  for  their 
weakness. 

When  w^omen  are  instinctively  bad  they  will  reject  all 
offers,  or  may  accept  one  for  the  purpose  of  blackmail. 
Such  women  will  not  bind  themselves  through  any  desire 
for  respectability.  When  a  fallen  woman  is  not  in- 
stinctively bad,  and  an  offer  of  marriage  is  made  to  her 
by  one  who  is  infatuated  with  her,  she  will  make  the  man 
understand  the  seriousness  of  the  step  he  is  taking.  The 
fear  of  future  reproach  may  cause  such  offer  to  be  re- 
jected. If  the  man  is,  however,  willing  to  accept  the  re- 
sponsibility she  will  not  say  no.   The  offer  of  a  man  who 


246 


THE  WRETCHES 


will  make  so  great  a  sacrifice  in  order  to  reform  the 
woman  is  rejected  by  the  vicious  and  by  the  giddy.  If 
made  to  a  woman  who  has  been  driven  to  the  street 
through  want  or  to  one  who  had  been  a  good  girl  until 
the  time  her  lover  deserted  her,  such  an  offer  would  be 
accepted,  and  she  will  thank  providence  for  the  greatest 
fortune  that  can  fall  to  a  woman  of  her  class.  When  a 
man  makes  a  great  sacrifice  for  a  woman  of  this  kind 
by  marrying  her  or  receiving  her  into  his  household  (a 
dangerous  experiment,  by  the  way),  she  shows  true  affec- 
tion for  him,  accommodates  herself  to  her  new  position, 
and  becomes  the  most  devout  of  women  and  most  de- 
voted of  wives.    Such  is  not,  however,  always  possible. 

A  young  woman  who  came  from  the  country,  where 
she  had  been  deserted  by  her  lover  when  he  found  that 
she  was  in  trouble,  was  in  a  brothel  and  on  the  street  for 
several  years.  A  man  connected  with  a  philanthropic  or- 
ganization occasionally  visited  her,  enjoyed  her  favors, 
yet  preached  morality  to  her.  She  told  him  she  would 
gladly  give  up  her  calling  if  someone  would  marry  her. 
He  proposed  to  her,  they  were  married  and  settled  down 
in  furnished  rooms  for  a  week,  until  he  had  furnished  a 
flat.  There  was  trouble  from  the  start.  She  knew  noth- 
ing of  housekeeping,  could  not  prepare  a  meal,  and  could 
not  accommodate  herself  to  the  change  from  her  former 
mode  of  life.  The  husband,  with  admirable  patience, 
gave  up  his  house  and  returned  with  his  wife  to  the  fur- 


THE  WRETCHES 


247 


nished  room,  taking  meals  at  a  restaurant.  The  birth  of 
a  child,  and  reconciliation  with  her  family,  saved  this 
woman  from  going  back  to  the  street. 

A  similar  case  did  not  turn  out  so  well.  A  mechanic 
on  the  east  side  married  a  woman  of  the  street,  who  ex- 
pressed her  desire  to  become  a  good,  respected  wife. 
Within  a  few  weeks  she  tired  of  the  monotony  of  home 
life,  and  one  evening  her  husband  found  a  note  on  the 
table  informing  him  that  his  wife  felt  lonely  and  went  out 
to 'see  some  friends.  He  found  her  in  a  dive,  and  left 
her  there. 

As  a  rule,  when  a  fallen  woman  marries  she  is  sin- 
cere in  her  efforts  at  reformation,  and  with  her  past  bur- 
ied she  becomes  respected  and  often  honored  in  circles 
where  her  old  life  is  unknown. 


PART  III 
THE  PROBLEM 


THE  PROBLEM 


CHAPTER  I 


PHILANTHROPY  VS.  HYPOCRISY. 


HARITY  covers  a  multitude  of  sins,  but  what  sins 


are  committed  in  its  name,  ask  the  wretches  of 
Povertyville. 

Sins  of  omission  and  sins  of  commission,  frauds  upon 
the  charitable  donors  and  frauds  upon  the  miserable 
beneficiaries,  hypocrisy  under  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and 
deceit  in  the  name  of  salvation ;  all  these  are  found  in 
Povertyville,  labeled  Charity  and  Philanthropy. 

True,  it  is  but  a  moiety  of  the  immense  amount  of 
charity  done  in  the  district ;  but  that  little  throws  a 
shadow  of  doubt  and  discredit  far  wider  than  its  own 
area. 

The  philanthropy  which  enriches  itself  at  the  expense 
of  its  beneficiaries,  the  charity  which  demands  from  its  re- 
cipients more  than  full  value  for  its  charitable  gifts,  are 
frauds  pure  and  simple.  They  are  dishonest  to  giver  and 
receiver  alike.    In  the  expressive  language  of  the  street, 


THE  PROBLEM 


249 


"Someone  gets  the  coin,  the  others  get  the  laugh."  Far 
worse  in  its  effects  upon  the  recipient  is  that  form  of  phi- 
lanthropy which  fosters  hypocrisy  by  offering  material  in- 
ducements to  those  who  accept  its  spiritual  gifts. 

Of  the  class  selling  their  gifts,  the  most  barefaced 
frauds  are  the  free  medical  institutes  on  and  near  the 
Bowery.  These  are  generally  run  in  connection  with 
drug  stores.  They  have  signs  in  the  window  announcing 
"Free  Medical  Treatment."  The  applicant  is  ushered 
into  a  small  room  adjoining  or  behind  the  store,  where  a 
physician  makes  a  perfunctory  examination.  Name,  ad- 
dress and  occupation  are  entered  in  a  register,  and  the 
doctor  inquires  how  he  is  fixed  financially.  If  the  pa- 
tient can  pay  nothing  for  medicine  and  can  leave  nothing 
of  value  as  a  deposit  for  medicine,  he  is  told  to  go  to  the 
hospital.  If  he  can  pay  for  the  medicine  he  receives  a 
prescription  written  in  a  ciper,  so  that  it  cannot  be  pre- 
pared anywhere  but  in  that  drug  store.  The  charge  for 
the  medicine  is  one  dollar  or  more,  of  which  the  doctor 
receives  half.  Surgical  operations  are  not  performed  un- 
less the  fee  is  paid  in  advance,  and  no  one  receives  a  pre- 
scription unless  he  can  pay  enough  for  the  medicine  to 
include  the  doctor's  commission.  These  institutes  violate 
the  dispensary  law,  but  escape  through  a  technicality. 

No  objection  can  be  made  to  philanthropic  institu- 
tions and  organizations  which  ask  for  contributions  from 
a  charitable  public,  when  they  charge  their  beneficiaries 
nominal  fees  and  prices.    But  when  an  organization  pos- 


250 


run    I'  ROB  LliM 


\\\g  as  a  i)hilanlhropy  charges  its  beneficiaries  the  ordi- 
nary prices  charged  by  money-making  business  men  for 
the  same  commocHties  or  services,  it  can  properly  1)e 
classed  as  a  "money-making  charity."  This  charge  is 
strengthened  when  in  its  appeals  for  contributions  it  pte- 
sents  its  business  venture  as  a  philanthropy. 

A  well  known  temperance  society,  a  highly  respect- 
able organization,  has  for  its  object  the  promotion  of 
temperance,  the  reformation  of  the  intemperate,  the  re- 
moval of  the  causes  which  lead  to  intemperance,  and  the 
issue  of  temperance  publications.  To  further  these  ob- 
jects, a  woman's  auxiliary  maintains  lunch  wagons  in 
various  parts  of  the  city,  and  had  a  restaurant  on  the 
Bowery.  It  is  inconceivable  how  the  objects  of  the  soci- 
ety are  furthered  by  establishing  lunch  wagons  and  res- 
taurants to  compete  with  other  restaurants  nearby. 

The  restaurant  furnished  meals  differing  little  in  qual- 
ity, quantity  or  price  from  meals  furnished  in  other  Bow- 
ery restaurants,  and  if  it  were  managed  as  the  others 
are,  it  should  have  been  a  well-paying  enterprise.  The 
lunch  wagons  furnished  over  three  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  meals  in  one  year,  the  income  from  this  source 
being  over  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

It  is  easy  to  compute  the  profits  from  its  restaurant 
business  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  lunch  wagons 
pay  no  rent,  the  society  claiming  they  are  used  for  a 
philanthropic  purpose,  and  the  ordinary  meal  consists  of 


THE  PROBLEM 


251 


a  sandwich  and  a  cup  of  coffee.  Yet  this  organization 
asks  an  indulgent  public  to  contribute  towards  its  sup- 
port. 

There  was  another  restaurant  near  the  one  just  men- 
tioned which  was  presented  to  a  charitable  public  as  a 
philanthropy,  but  which  on  the  Bowery  was  supposed 
to  be  one  of  the  best-paying  establishments  on  the  street. 
It  was  maintained  by  the  owner  of  a  sectarian  weekly,  and 
in  his  appeal  for  funds  he  mentioned  this  restaurant  in 
which  thousands  of  men  receive  "good,  substantial"  meals 
for  five  cents.  The  meals  were  worth  no  more  than  the 
price  paid  for  them.    It  is  now  run  by  a  private  firm. 

Of  all  the  pseudo-philanthropies  none  have  the  ef- 
frontery of  an  exchange  for  w^oman's  work,  maintained 
by  a  number  of  wealthy  women,  which  charges  appli- 
cants for  positions  fifty  cents  registration  fee,  charges 
subscribers  two  dollars  a  year  for  the  privilege  of  ad- 
mitting one  woman's  work  to  its  salesrooms,  charges  ten 
per  cent  commission  on  all  sales  made  there,  yet  poses  as 
a  charity  asking  for  donations  to  carry  on  its  business 
venture.  As  it  receives,  however,  work  from  ''gentle- 
women only,"  the  wretches  of  Povertyville  are  probably 
not  eligible  to  its  charity. 

There  are  charitable  organizations  appealing  for  con- 
tributions to  carry  on  work  in  Povertyville,  fully  covered 
by  other  bodies,  and  charging  for  services  furnished  gra- 
tuitously by  the  state  and  by  other  societies. 


252 


THE    PR  0  BLUM 


An  employment  agency  incor])orale(l  nnder  a  long  re- 
ligious title  is  one  of  these.  Organized  to  assist  respect- 
able working  women  to  obtain  employment,  it  states  in 
its  appeal  that  no  worthy  applicant  will  be  denied  the  aid 
of  the  society.  It  also  adds  that  a  fee  is  charged  for 
every  service  rendered.  The  state  and  many  private  soci- 
eties recognize  the  fact  that  the  gratuitous  service  of  se- 
curing work  for  a  person  is  the  least  likely  to  pauperize, 
and  the  payment  of  a  registration  fee  is  a  hardship  to 
an  unemployed  person.  Other  employment  agencies  run 
in  the  name  of  benevolent  societies  charge  for  registra- 
tion and  other  services,  but  they  do  not  ask  the  public  to 
support  this  branch  of  their  work. 

The  Salvation  Army  is  not  free  from  the  charge  that 
mercenary  motives  are  back  of  some  of  its  enterprises. 
Its  old  workingman's  hotel  on  the  Bowery  does  not  dif- 
fer from  the  other  lodging  houses  of  the  same  class,  and 
pays,  or  ought  to  pay,  as  well  as  the  others.  The  new 
workingman's  hotel,  at  Chatham  Square,  is  brighter, 
cleaner,  and  has  more  conveniences  than  the  ordinary 
cheap  lodging  house.  Still,  on  account  of  the  large  num- 
ber of  rooms,  it  is  probably  the  best-paying  lodging  house 
in  the  city. 

The  Bowery  branch  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  not,  and  is 
not  intended  to  be,  a  money-making  philanthropy.  It 
charges  fifteen  cents  for  a  bed  and  five  cents  for  a  meal, 
but  the  majority  of  the  applicants  receive  free  lodging 
and  many  receive  free  meals. 


THE  PROBLEM 


253 


There  are  many  charities  in  Povertyville  which  have 
no  money-making  features,  yet  benefit  the  wretches  as 
Httle  as  those  we  have  mentioned.  One  organization, 
having  an  annual  income  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars, 
spends  one  thousand  dollars  for  salaries,  rent,  and  sta- 
tionery. The  rest  goes  for  charity.  Another  benevolent 
society,  which  gives  balls  and  entertainments,  "the  pro- 
ceeds going  to  charity,"  has  a  sewing  class,  and  beside  re- 
ceiving dues,  contributions  and  donations,  collects  over  five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  Yet,  after  deducting  expenses, 
less  than  three  hundred  dollars  are  left  for  the  relief  of 
the  destitute. 

Among  the  hypocritical  philanthropists  are  some  of 
the  missions  and  some  organizations  making  a  great  dis- 
play by  public  distribution  of  their  charitable  gifts. 

One  of  the  latter  class  makes  several  distributions  an- 
nually, the  recipients  standing  in  line  to  receive  their  dole, 
the  members  and  donors  standing  about  watching  the 
proceedings  as  they  would  the  antics  of  a  freak  in  a 
museum.  The  proverb,  "Let  not  thy  right  hand  know," 
etc.,  is  out  of  place  at  these  exhibitions,  for  the  donors 
apparently  look  for  gratitude  from  the  poor  wretches, 
and  seem  to  derive  pleasure  in  their  humiliation.  Cer- 
tainly nothing  can  crush  the  spirit  more  effectually  than 
to  make  public  acknowledgment  that  one  is  a  pauper. 

The  master  throws  the  dog  a  bone  and  kicks  him 
when  he  picks  it  up.  This  is  one  form  of  Christian 
Charity. 


254 


I'HE  PROBLEM 


Equally  rcpcllant  to  the  sensitive  nature  is  the  dis- 
tribution of  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  dinners  in  pub- 
lic. While  such  distributions  serve  the  practical  pur- 
pose of  furnishing  a  good  meal  to  the  needy,  and  the 
ulterior  purpose  of  rousing  the  sympathies  of  the  benevo- 
lent by  bringing  them  face  to  face  with  those  in  want,  they 
also  benefit  many  shiftless,  worthless  fellows,  but  tend 
to  increase  pauperism  by  leading  many  self-respecting 
poor  to  accept  alms  and  charity. 

On  Christmas  day,  1904,  twelve  thousand  men  were 
needed  to  clean  the  streets  at  two  dollars  a  day.  Less 
than  four  thousand  applied  for  work,  yet  forty  thousand 
received  free  public  Christmas  dinners  from  various  or- 
ganizations. 

The  missions  which  offer  free  meals  and  lodgings  as 
an  inducement  to  the  wretches  to  attend  services  foster 
thereby  hypocrisy.  In  1908  the  joint  application  bureau 
of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  and  the  Association 
for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor  issued  5,300 
personal  invitations  to  men  in  the  bread  lines  to  apply  at 
the  bureau  for  work.  Only  136  applied,  and  most  of 
these  refused  work.  No  more  emphatic  proof  need  be 
given  to  show  the  general  worthlessness  of  these  men. 
Yet  the  Bowery  Mission  maintains  its  bread  line  and  asks 
for  contributions  for  its  support. 

In  winter  the  missions  are  comfortably  filled  every 
night  by  poor  devils  who  seek  shelter  from  the  cold,  by 
homeless  men  who  receive  free  lodgings  through  the  mis- 


THE  PROBLEM 


253 


sions,  by  many  who  find  pastime  in  listening  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  rounders  and  joining-  in  the  singing,  and  by 
some  who  come  for  spiritual  consolation. 

On  food  distribution  nights  early  arrivals  are  almost 
without  exception  tramps  and  osiers  who  come  for  a  free 
meal.  On  such  nights  the  mission  hall  is  crowded  to  the 
doors.  On  hot  summer  nights  the  services  are  poorly 
attended  except  on  distribution  nights.  Lately  (January, 
1909)  one  mission  gave  breakfasts,  evening  lunches  and 
maintains  a  bread  line. 

Those  who  understand  the  character  of  these  wretched 
beings,  outcasts,  paupers,  the  vicious  and  depraved,  pity 
the  credulous,  well-intentioned  men  and  women  who 
spend  time  and  money  in  the  wrong  direction  to  regener- 
ate these  hopeless  cases.  They  seem  to  place  implicit 
faith  in  the  "horrible  examples"  who  mount  the  little 
mission  stage  and  in  apparent  meekness  give  their  testi- 
mony. These  tell  hearers  that  they  had  led  a  life  of 
shame,  of  vice,  of  depravity,  but  the  Lord  found  them 
in  the  gutter  and  lifted  them  up  and  now  they  will  fol- 
low in  His  steps,  etc.  For  free  meals  and  lodgings  most 
of  them  will  pose  as  the  horrible  example  or  the  reformed 
drunkard,  although  they  cannot  maintain  the  latter  pose 
long. 

Occasionally  song  and  prayer  will  recall  tender  mem- 
ories and  rouse  a  dormant  conscience,  but  unless  these 


256 


THE  PROBLEM 


are  sustained  by  something  more  substantial,  neither 
memory  nor  conscience  will  supply  the  bed,  nor  satisfy 
the  craving  for  the  night-cap. 

In  rare  cases  there  is  a  true  revival  of  religious  feel- 
ing, or  even  a  creation  of  religious  feeling  in  one  who 
has  never  had  that  sentiment.  They  leave  the  services 
fully  determined  to  lead  good,  virtuous  lives.  But  en- 
vironment and  necessity  break  the  firmest  resolutions. 
Religion  may  give  the  strength  to  withstand  the  jeers  of 
companions,  it  may  renew  hope  in  the  future  and  rouse 
ambition,  but  it  will  not  give  the  physical  power  to  with- 
stand the  pangs  of  hunger  nor  can  it  be  used  as  a  mate- 
rial cloak  to  keep  ofif  the  cold. 

From  men  they  become  wretches  again  and  follow  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  rounders  who  make  the  tour  of  the 
missions,  professing  conversion  whenever  such  profes- 
sion promises  to  be  followed  by  material  benefits. 

There  are,  indeed,  some  who  through  the  missions 
have  been  restored  to  respectability,  some  who  had  re- 
solved to  lead  better  lives  and  had  found  an  opportunity 
to  do  so  before  necessity  drove  them  back,  some  who 
were  kept  from  wandering  from  the  right  path.  But 
altogether  the  actual  good  done  by  the  missions  is  out- 
weighed by  the  harm  they  do  in  unconsciously  fostering 
hypocrisy  and  deceit,  and  in  aiding  worthless  wretches. 

The  good  intentions  of  the  mission  workers,  are,  how- 
ever, acknowledged  by  the  wretches  and  there  is  no  one 


THE  PROBLEM 


257 


to  whom  more  deference  is  shown  by  them  than  to  Mrs. 
Bird,  the  good  mother  of  the  Bowery  ]\Iission. 

One  feature  of  the  work  of  the  Salvation  Army  which 
savors  of  hypocrisy,  or  worse,  is  the  sale  of  the  "War 
Cry,"  its  official  organ,  in  dives,  concert  halls  and  saloons. 
The  women  of  the  Salvation  Army  enter  these  places, 
not  to  do  Evangelical  work  by  the  distribution  of  War 
Crys  as  tracts,  but  they  come  as  newspaper  vendors  to 
sell  their  wares.  Their  religious  garb  saves  them  from 
abuse.  They  are  engaged  in  a  purely  business  enter- 
prise, as  much  a  business  as  the  sale  of  any  other  publi- 
cation would  be,  their  mission  is  mercenary,  and  the 
cloak  and  cap  of  religion  cannot  save  them  from  the 
charge  that  they  are  carrying  on  a  regular  business  by 
very  reprehensible  methods. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  instances  in  which 
the  charitable  givers  are  imposed  upon  and  the  unfortu- 
nate receivers  derive  little  benefit  from  their  beneficiaries. 

Some  of  these  mentioned  are  not  intended  for  the 
classes  with  which  we  are  dealing,  but  all  are  open  to  the 
same  charge.  The  good  is  dissipated  in  its  transmission 
and  the  poor  devil  receives  but  a  shadow  and  a  smell  of 
the  donor's  gift. 

It  may  seem  presumptuous  to  impugn  the  motives  of 
men  and  organizations  which  have  gained  worldwide 
reputations  for  their  philanthropic  work.  Unquestion- 
ably they  do  some  good  and  are  therefore  permitted  to 
continue  in  their  work.     But  motives  may  always  be 


258 


THE    P  ROB  LR M 


questioned  when  we  find  men  becoming  wealthy  through 
their  connection  with  philanthropies,  wdien  they  apply  for 
contributions  for  business  ventures,  wdien  almost  the 
entire  amount  obtained  by  a  philanthropic  organization 
from  contributions  is  used  to  pay  big  salaries  to  officials. 
It  is  not  wdthin  the  province  of  this  book  to  analyze  the 
reports  of  philanthropies  W'Orking  in  Povertyville.  Some 
give  detailed  accounts  wdiich  are  easily  verified;  when 
they  give  general  figures  which  defy  analysis  and  espe- 
cially when  run  by  a  single  individual  or  a  small  board, 
it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much,  if  any,  is  ''graft." 

Methods  and  measures  may  in  like  manner  be  ques- 
tioned when  they  result  in  perpetuating  vice  and  pauper- 
ism by  supporting  the  vicious,  shiftless  and  lazy,  instead 
of  making  them  self-supporting. 


CHAPTER  II 


IMPRACTICABLE  IDEALS. 


HEN  the  idealists  and  moral  philosophers  discover 


▼  ▼  a  means  to  eliminate  from  human  nature  those 
passions  which  beget  crime  and  vice,  they  will  be  able 
to  eradicate  crime  and  vice  themselves.  Until  they  can 
accomplish  this,  their  efforts  must  be  limited  to  the  con- 
trol and  repression  of  those  passions. 

Under  the  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  pres- 
ent time  when  there  is  no  standard  of  virtue  save  such 
as  conscience  sets  up,  and  no  judgment  of  vice  save  such 
as  public  policy  decrees,  when  the  conception  of  right 
and  wrong  differs  with  every  individual  and  public  policy 
is  forever  changing,  idealists  themselves  grope  in  the 
dark  to  find  a  plane  acceptable  to  all. 

Virtue  and  vice  are  but  relative  terms,  even  crime 
itself  being,  under  some  circumstances,  in  line  with  pub- 
lic policy,  hence  a  conditional  virtue.  We  have  justifi- 
able homicide,  the  justification  being  based  upon  a  legal 
assumption,  as  in  the  killing  of  a  burglar,  yet  the  under- 
lying motive  is  revenge,  as  in  deliberate  and  premedi- 
tated murder. 


260 


THE  PROBLEM 


The  church  raffle  is  a  virtue  because  it  wears  the 
cloak  of  rchgion,  yet  it  is  the  outcome  of  the  same  vicious 
gambHng  instinct  which  makes  the  unlawful  turkey  raffle 
attractive. 

The  dealer  in  futures  on  the  stock  market  is  a  legal- 
ized speculator,  while  the  dealer  in  futures  in  the  pool 
room  is  a  criminal.  One  speculates  upon  the  outcome 
of  deals  which  may  be  influenced  by  an  act  of  Provi- 
dence, but  are  more  often  influenced  by  financial  trick- 
ery, while  the  bookmaker  speculates  upon  the  outcome 
of  a  perhaps  honestly  conducted  horse  race. 

The  stock  broker  whose  skillfully  worded  circulars 
induce  thousands  to  invest  money  in  worthless  stocks, 
is  a  respected  financier,  while  the  green  goods  man 
whose  skillfully  worded  circulars  tempt  the  honest  farm- 
ers to  buy  worthless  paper  goes  to  prison.  So,  too,  the 
three  card  monte  man  is  a  criminal,  although  the  victim 
has  one-third  of  the  chances  in  his  favor. 

Lottery,  forbidden  in  the  United  States,  was  once 
sanctioned  here  and  is  to-day  conducted  by  several  foreign 
governments.  Thus  we  see  that  public  policy  is  the 
deciding  factor  in  the  estimation  of  many  forms  of  vice. 
Even  such  vices  as  are  not  based  upon  the  animal  pas- 
sions are  vices  or  virtues,  are  justifiable,  excusable,  or 
intolerable  as  public  policy  may  from  time  to  time  decide. 

Equivocal  divorce  laws  make  it  possible  to  commit 
bigamy  legally,  a  man  may  have  a  mistress  and  a  wife, 


THE   PROBLEM  261 


and  the  female  voluptuary  may  dispense  her  favors  to  a 
lover  or  two  without  losing  prestige  or  violating  a  statute. 

The  chorus  girl  is  sought  by  admirers  who  pay  liber- 
ally for  her  favors;  one  may  even  marry  her  out  of  self- 
ishness, and  she  loses  neither  caste  nor  respect.  Let  her 
lose  her  charms  so  that  she  is  compelled  to  look  for  ad- 
mirers and  patrons  and  she  becomes  a  criminal.  It  is  all 
in  the  point  of  view,  in  the  position  the  person  holds,  in 
the  individual  conception  of  right  and  wrong. 

It  is  far  from  our  purpose  to  extenuate  crime  and 
vice.  But  to  show  the  utter  futility  of  fixing  a  rational 
standard  of  virtue  applicable  to  all  places  and  times,  and 
the  folly  of  endeavoring  to  eradicate  vices  and  crimes 
which  spring  from  natural  human  passions,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  view  both  sides  of  the  question  and  in  all  its 
lights.  It  is  necessary  to  recognize  those  evils  which 
depend  upon  the  natural  appetite  and  which  no  human 
law  can  suppress,  those  evils  arising  out  of  economic 
conditions,  and  those  evils  which  public  policy  or  party 
politics  now  class  as  crimes  and  again  as  lawful  pastimes 
or  pursuits. 

The  idealist  apparently  does  not  differentiate  be- 
tween these  three  distinct  classes,  but  would  wipe  out 
every  act,  pursuit  and  pastime  which  does  not  meet  with 
his  approval.  He  sets  up  his  own  ideas  as  the  standard 
of  virtue  and  poses  as  the  immaculate  specimen  of  what 
the  world  should  be.  His  ideal  city  is  peopled  with 
beings  like  himself.    There  is  no  vice,  no  crime,  no  pov- 


262 


THE  PROBLEM 


erty,  no  saloon,  no  dive,  no  Raines  Law  hotel,  no  gam- 
bling house.  Neither  has  it  a  thief,  a  confidence  man, 
a  speculator,  a  woman  walking  the  street,  a  beggar  nor 
a  tramp.  Carrying  his  conception  further,  there  would 
be  no  police,  no  repressive  laws — in  short,  his  ideal  city 
would  be  a  Utopia,  such  as  Aloore  and  Bellamy  dreamt  of. 

Alas,  our  idealist  ,  leaves  out  of  his  reckoning  human 
nature.  He  does  not  consider  the  gambling  or  specu- 
lative instinct  which  underlies  the  option  on  next  win- 
ter's wheat  as  well  as  picking  the  winner  in  next  year's 
Suburban,  the  drawing  of  the  church  raffle  as  well  as 
the  fall  of  the  die. 

He  does  not  consider  that  sense  which  begets  lust,  in 
his  warfare  against  fallen  women.-  He  forgets  that  that 
instinct  is  irrepressible  and  those  who  seek  these  women 
will  find  them,  or  more  grossly  violate  nature's  laws.  He 
does  not  consider  economic  conditions  which  produce 
hard  times  when  persons  are  driven  to  crime  in  self- 
preservation.  He  does  not  stop  to  think  that  party  poli- 
tics may  cause  the  enactment  of  laws  which  public  opin- 
ion opposes  and  the  masses  will  violate  without  consci- 
entious scruples,  making  themselves  virtual  law-breakers. 
He  does  not  know  that  some  forms  of  vice  are  due  to 
mental  perversions,  are  symptoms  of  disease  requiring 
medical  treatment  and  not  repressive  punishment. 

Each  of  these  factors  must  be  considered  in  its  rela- 
tions to  the  individual  and  to  the  body  politic  before 
rational  conclusions  can  be  drawn  and  measures  adopted 


THE  PROBLEM 


263 


to  limit  vice  and  crime  and  prevent  their  spread.  Nat- 
ural human  instincts  must  always  be  reckoned  with. 
When  some  years  ago  the  attempt  was  made  to  suppress 
brothels  and  drive  the  women  off  the  street,  the  wretches 
sought  shelter  in  the  tenements.  Hundreds  of  working 
girls  were  thrown  in  direct  contact  with  the  wretches, 
saw  with  what  ease  the  latter  made  a  living  without 
work,  and  followed  their  example.  In  one  tenement 
house  in  East  13th  Street  in  which  "Mrs.  Gray"  found 
shelter  after  she  had  been  driven  from  a  brothel,  four 
respectable  girls  were  initiated  by  Mrs.  Gray  into  the  se- 
crets of  her  vocation  and  two  wives  were  taught  how  to 
earn  illicit  pin  money  without  danger.  In  the  tenements 
husbands  and  sons  who  had  never  visited  a  brothel  became 
the  patrons  of  the  wretches,  while  many  of  the  former 
patrons  were  driven  to  other  measures,  some  even  to 
force,  to  satisfy  their  desires. 

The  eradication  of  the  social  evil,  and  the  suppression 
of  the  sale  of  liquor,  seem  to  be  the  special  hobbies  of 
the  reformers.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said 
and  shown  to  prove  that  the  social  evil  is  a  necessary  evil 
in  a  city  having  a  large  floating  population,  especially  in 
a  seaport,  reformers  still  insist  upon  its  total  suppression. 
Whenever  they  have  been  given  the  power  to  carry  out 
their  plans  in  this  direction,  their  worse  than  futile  efforts 
have  spread  the  evil,  giving  it  undue  publicity,  and  in- 
creased other  forms  of  vice. 


264 


THE  PROBLEM 


Equally  unsuccessful  have  been  the  efforts  made  to 
restrict  and  suppress  drunkenness  through  suppression  of 
the  liquor  traffic.  Instead  of  working  upon  individual 
cases  of  drunkenness,  they  attempt  to  restrict  or  suppress 
the  sale  of  liquor,  forgetting  that  the  number  of  saloons 
bears  no  relation  to  drunkenness  or  to  the  amount  of 
liquor  consumed. 

New  York  City,  with  10,821  saloons,  had  71,573  ar- 
rests for  drunkenness  in  1902,  an  average  of  6.6  per 
saloon.  At  the  same  time  Philadelphia  had  an  average 
of  17.5  and  Boston  19.8.  Cincinnati  and  San  Francisco 
have  about  the  same  population,  yet  the  former,  with 
1,676  saloons,  had  less  than  2,000  arrests  for  drunken- 
ness in  1902,  while  the  latter,  with  3,052  saloons,  had 
nearly  15,000  arrests  in  the  same  time.  Toledo,  with  a 
population  of  150,000  and  660  saloons,  had  but  343  ar- 
rests for  drunkenness. 

That  neither  high  license  nor  total  prohibition  had 
any  bearing  upon  drunkenness  can  be  seen  by  other  com- 
parisons. 

The  city  of  Lawrence,  with  a  license  fee  of  $2,500 
and  62  saloons,  had  1,321  arrests,  one  out  of  every  50  of 
its  population,  while  Evansville,  with  a  license  fee  of  $75 
and  292  saloons,  had  345  arrests,  or  one  out  of  every  219 
of  its  population.  Philadelphia,  a  high  license  city  with 
twice  the  population  of  St.  Louis  and  about  half  as  many 
saloons,  had  seven  and  a  half  times  as  many  drunks. 
Cambridge,  a  temperance  town  without  a  saloon,  and 


THE  PROBLEM 


265 


92,000  population,  had  1,620  drunks,  or  as  many  as 
Newark  with  a  population  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  and 
1,280  saloons. 

Portland,  Alaine,  another  temperance  town,  had  more 
drunks  than  Indianapolis,  which  has  more  than  three 
times  the  population  and  525  saloons. 

While  a  high  license  fee  reduces  the  number  of  sa- 
loons, even  the  total  suppression  of  the  saloons  will  not 
restrict  drinking  and  drunkenness.  Notwithstanding  the 
evident  conclusions  which  one  must  draw  from  the  com- 
parative statistics,  reformers  still  try  to  force  their  pet 
hobbies,  making  a  political  issue  out  of  the  liquor  ques- 
tion. In  New  York  State  the  liquor  question  has  ceased 
to  be  one  of  morals,  but  has  been  converted  into  a  polit- 
ical weapon  by  the  great  political  parties. 

With  the  exception  of  the  war  upon  policy  playing 
by  the  anti-policy  society  the  reformers  make  no  concen- 
trated efforts  to  curb  the  gambling  and  speculative 
instincts.  They  leave  the  vices  and  crimes  dependent 
thereon  to  be  handled  by  the  police  according  to  the 
temper  of  that  mercurial  body. 

Neither  do  the  reformers  touch  such  crimes  as  theft, 
fraud,  etc. — crimes  dependent  upon  economic  conditions — 
nor  would  they  handle  the  drug  vices,  all  of  which  are 
more  amenable  to  treatment  than  their  own  hobbies. 

Not  alone  individuals  but  organizations,  some  number- 
ing thousands  of  members,  attempt  to  bring  about  im- 
practicable ideals. 


266 


7^  //  E    P  ROB  L  E  M 


A  national  organization,  which  in  its  old  name  de- 
clared its  purpose  to  be  the  Prevention  of  State  Regula- 
tion of  Vice,  is  one  of  these.  Beside  the  object  indicated 
in  its  former  name,  it  endeavors  to  "repress  vice,  protect 
the  young,  rescue  the  fallen,  extend  the  White  Cross 
among  men  and  maintain  the  law  of  purity  as  binding 
upon  men  and  women  alike."  It  issues  a  quarterly  mag- 
azine and  a  number  of  leaflets.  Its  members  are  natu- 
rally in  sympathy  with  its  objects  and  these  are  reached 
by  its  publications,  but  aside  from  the  mischievous  med- 
dling in  a  small  way  politically,  when  the  question  of 
the  regulation  of  vice  is  brought  up,  it  has  no  effect  upon 
the  class  for  whose  good  it  claims  to  labor. 

Another  National  Organization  for  the  Promotion  of 
Social  Purity  has  a  more  extended  scope  than  the  other, 
and  works  on  more  rational  lines.  Instead  of  distribut- 
ing publications  among  its  supporters  it  works  directly 
upon  those  it  would  benefit  by  the  formation  of  clubs, 
furnishing  girls  with  employment  and  prosecuting  men 
who  deceive  them. 

The  American  Sabbath  Union  is  another  body  endeav- 
oring to  carry  out  an  impracticable  ideal,  although  its 
work  does  not  bear  directly  upon  our  subject.  Its  object 
is  to  preserve  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship, 
and  in  its  efforts  to  carry  out  its  object  it  has  tried  to 
enforce  measures  opposed  to  public  policy,  measures  to 


THE  PROBLEM 


267 


prevent  necessary  labor  on  the  Sabbath,  measures  to 
deprive  the  great  mass  of  people  who  work  throughout 
the  week  of  recreation. 

The  liberal  views  held  by  the  city  magistrates  and  the 
common-sense  decisions  rendered  by  them  on  this  subject 
have  nullified  the  misdirected  ef¥orts  of  this  body. 

It  is  the  natural  result  which  follows  any  attempt  to 
enforce  ''Blue  Laws"  or  cram  religion  down  the  throat 
of  a  complex  community. 

The  New  York  Sabbath  Committee,  a  local  organiza- 
tion, works  on  similar  lines.  It  is  more  aggressive  than 
the  other,  but  recognizes  local  conditions  and  has  more 
liberal  views. 

Temperance  organizations  generally  work  along  sim- 
ilar lines.  They  carry  out  their  object  to  prevent  drunk- 
enness by  enlisting  the  young,  impressing  them  with  the 
advantages  of  sobriety  and  the  dangers  of  drink.  The 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  starts  out  with 
the  impracticable  idea  that  the  way  to  prevent  drunken- 
ness is  to  forbid  the  liquor  traffic  entirely. 

When,  in  1854,  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York  passed  a  prohibition  law  the  governor  vetoed  it, 
and  when  a  similar  bill,  passed  in  1855,  was  signed  by 
the  governor,  the  mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York  refused 
to  carry  out  its  provisions  on  the  ground  that  it  infringed 
upon  personal  liberty  and  was  opposed  to  the  sentiment 
of  the  vast  majority  of  the  residents  of  this  city. 
It  was  declared  unconstitutional  in  1856.    The  present 


268  T II  li    P  ROB  LB  M 


higii-liccnsc  law  has  been  especially  unfortunate  for 
Xew  York  City,  although  it  has  added  large  sums 
to  the  city  and  state  treasuries.  It  has  wiped  out  hun- 
dreds of  small  beer  saloons  and  these  were  replaced  by 
liquor  stores.  In  the  beer  saloons  men  w^ould  sit  at  the 
tables,  spending  half  an  hour  or  more  over  a  single  glass. 
Now  they  stand  at  the  bar  and  will  take  several  glasses 
where  they  formerly  took  one  or  two.  The  first  notice- 
able effect  of  the  law  was  an  increase  of  drinking  in  the 
house  and  family,  boxes  of  bottled  beer  taking  the  place 
of  the  occasional  pint. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  consider  the 
numerous  impracticable  measures  brought  forward  to 
relieve  poverty  and  repress  chronic  pauperism. 

In  dealing  with  the  floaters  of  Povertyville,  with  a 
view  of  uplifting  them  or  ridding  the  city  of  them,  such 
extreme  measures  have  been  advocated  as  forcible  com- 
munism, and  hastening  by  force  the  natural  result  of 
over-population. 

Of  the  more  rational  measures  to  improve  morally  the 
classes  with  which  we  deal  may  be  mentioned  the  work 
of  the  Salvation  Army,  the  Volunteers  of  America  and 
the  Missions. 

As  a  religious  movement  the  success  of  the  Salvation 
Army  and  the  A^olunteers  of  America  is  unquestioned. 
Both  have  done  valuable  evangelical  work  in  the  slums, 
whereby  they  have  gained  recruits  who  would  otherwise 
have  gone  down  to  the  depths  of  infamy.  W^hatever 


T H E    P  ROB  LE M 


269 


may  be  thought  of  their  methods,  they  have  succeeded  in 
upHfting-  individuals,  making  good  men  and  women  out 
of  wretches.  We  may  scofif  at  their  bass  drum  and  cym- 
bal processions,  we  may  charge  them  with  hypocrisy  in 
maintaining  as  philanthropic  enterprises  well-paying  lodg- 
ing houses,  we  may  denounce  the  sending  of  women  into 
disreputable  houses  to  sell  W^ar  Crys,  we  may  criticise 
their  public  distribution  of  meals,  tending,  as  it  certainly 
does,  to  foster  pauperism  and  dull  the  sense  of  inde- 
pendence in  the  self-respecting  poor,  we  may  even  ques- 
tion their  honesty  of  purpose ;  yet  the  one  great  fact 
remains  that  they  do  good.  By  personal  effort  in  indi- 
vidual cases  they  drag  from  the  whirlpool,  here  a  drunk- 
ard, there  a .  fallen  woman,  and  again  the  ex-convict 
drifting  back  into  his  old  life. 

To  what  extent  the  mission  services  tend  to  reclaim 
the  wretches  is  problematic.  Without  some  more  sub- 
stantial support  than  prayer  it  is  doubtful  if  a  single 
individual  among  the  wretches  could  be  led  to  a  righteous, 
self-supporting  life. 

The  idealist  who  thinks  that  moral  teachings  alone 
will  suffice  to  reform  the  fallen  and  the  depraved  cannot 
realize  that  there  are  minds  impervious  to  ideas  of  moral- 
ity, that  neither  prayers  nor  sermons  will  fill  an  empty 
stomach  nor  will  they  destroy  the  desire  for  drink.  [Mis- 
sions may  aid  in  re-establishing  self-respect  and  man- 
hood ;  but  it  requires  a  material  impetus  to  start  the 
change  in  the  moral  character.    After  a  hearty  meal  we 


270 


T H E    P ROBL E M 


can  listen  complaisantly  to  a  sermon  and  imbibe  its  im- 
port, but  let  the  listener  suffer  the  pangs  of  hunger  or 
the  horrible  gnawing  which  accompanies  the  deprivation 
of  the  accustomed  drug,  or  worry  about  his  "bote 
money,"  and  the  most  impressive  lesson  will  fall  upon 
inattentive  ears. 

Neither  will  mission  services  rouse  the  dulled  con- 
science of  the  depraved  even  if  it  were  possible  to  induce 
these  people  to  attend  such  services.  There  is  lacking 
that  personal,  concentrated  interest  and  attention  which 
is  necessary  to  touch  the  heart  and  reason  of  the  hard- 
ened wretch.  Herein  lies  the  secret  of  the  success  of 
the  workers  who  take  individual  cases  and  by  heart-to- 
heart  talks,  behind  closed  doors,  arouse  a  sense  of  honor 
and  laudable  ambition  in  the  breast  of  the  listener. 

Any  work  which  lessens  a  vicious  phase  of  city  life 
is  commendable.  The  Committee  of  Fourteen,  which 
was  organized  to  suppress  the  vicious  Raines  Law  hotels, 
has  succeeded  in  securing  a  modification  of  the  original 
law  whereby  the  number  of  such  resorts  was  reduced 
from  over  1,400,  in  existence  when  the  committee  was 
formed  in  1905,  to  about  860  in  May,  1906.  Of  these 
not  more  than  250  are  legitimate  hotels.  Since  1906 
their  efforts  have  been  directed  toward  securing  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law.  The  aggressive  secretary  of  the 
committee  has  forced  the  revocation  of  the  licenses  of 
a  number  of  the  most  notorious  of  these  brothel  hotels, 
in  spite  of  powerful  political  and  financial  opposition. 


THE  PROBLEM 


271 


The  City  Vigilance  League  has  looked  after  the  police 
end  of  such  resorts,  its  secretary  being  responsible  for 
many  of  the  police  raids  on  dives  and  brothels.  While 
these  two  organizations  have  improved  the  moral  aspect 
of  the  city  by  wiping  out  many  dives  and  Raines  Law 
hotels,  they  have  done  nothing  to  lessen  the  prevalence 
of  the  vice  and  their  work  actually  benefits  the  foul  re- 
sorts, which  can  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  vicious 
Raines  Law. 


CHAPTER  Iir 

PRACTICAL  MEASURES. 


TV  /IAN  is  a  gregarious  animal,  having,  in  common  with 
^  the  rest  of  the  animal  kingdom,  the  physical 
instincts  of  self-preservation  and  propagation.  He  has, 
besides,  the  human,  mental  instincts,  a  self-directing  will 
and  reason  to  follow  his  physical  instincts,  and  a  spiritual 
mentor,  conscience,  to  direct  will  and  reason  to  move  in 
proper  channels. 

Knowing  the  nature  of  pain,  one  of  the  ends  to  be 
attained  by  civilization  is  a  happiness  which  gives  no 
pain,  mental  or  physical,  in  its  acquisition  or  possession ; 
hence  force  is  to  be  used  only  as  a  last  resort  in  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness. 

Reason,  will  and  conscience,  inherent  in  the  human 
being  as  a  germ,  must  be  developed,  and  the  form  of 
development  depends  upon  education  and  environment. 
Yet  not  alone  individuals  but  neighboring  communities 
having  the  same  advantages  of  education  and  environ- 
ment differ  vastly  in  their  ideals,  in  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, even  in  the  reasoning  faculties.  Although  they 
may  be  on  the  same  plane  of  civilization  they  try  to  attain 
the  same  end — the  acquistion  of  happiness — by  following 


THE  PROBLEM 


273 


a  different  course  from  that  of  their  neighbors.  Reason 
invents  substitntes  for  the  force  employed  by  the  savage 
in  following  his  physical  instincts,  and  each  one  employs 
the  substitute  which  he  supposes'  will  lead  to  the  end  in 
view  most  speedily,  with  the  least  labor  and  the  least 
inconvenience  or  pain  to  others.  It  is  when  that  substi- 
tute does  annoy  or  pain  the  neighbor  that  measures  must 
be  taken  to  interfere  with  the  offender's  actions.  This 
applies  as  well  to  nations  and  communities  as  to  the  indi- 
viduals with  whom  we  are  dealing.  Public  policy  de- 
crees that  not  only  must  the  body  as  a  whole  interfere 
when  one  man's  actions  injure  another,  such  action  con- 
stituting a  crime,  but  when  a  man's  action  be  of  such  a 
nature  that  he  is  himself  injured  thereby.  When  his 
morals  are  involved  it  is  a  vice.  It  is  then  the  duty,  not 
alone  of  the  individual  injured,  but  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, to  suppress  vice  and  crime,  gently  if  possible, 
forcibly  if  need  be.  The  offender  must  be  led  in  the 
right  path,  and  if  he  will  not  remain  there  he  must  be 
placed  under  restraint.  But  instead  of  considering  the 
offense  only  and  applying  measures  based  upon  the  grav- 
ity of  the  crime,  the  offender's  mental  and  moral  con- 
dition should  be  first  considered.  Is  his  lapse  due  to  de- 
pravity or  a  perverted  conscience  and  reason,  or  is  it 
due  to  ignorance  or  a  not  fully  developed  conscience  and 
reason,  or  is  it  due  to  necessity  which  may  temporarily 
dull  the  spiritual  instinct?  Each  cause  demands  a  dis- 
tinctive method  of  treatment.    Local  conditions  may 


274 


THE  PROBLEM 


make  a  restriction  of  rational,  normal  acts  necessary,  de- 
claring such  to  be  crimes,  although  no  moral  law  is  vio- 
lated. The  fault  may  even  be  a  recognized  disease  which 
it  would  be  criminal  to  call  a  crime. 

Once  they  hung  the  thief,  burnt  the  witch,  branded  the 
dissolute  woman  and  sold  the  pauper.  Then  heavy  drink- 
ing was  an  accomplishment,  as  was  blasphemy,  while  the 
honor  of  womanhood  was  a  bauble,  priceless  as  a  new 
toy  to  the  maid,  valueless  as  an  old  toy  later. 

Now  motive  and  mind  are  considered  as  well  as  the 
crime  itself.  The  old  legal  adage,  ''Let  the  punishment 
fit  the  crime,"  has  lost  its  force.  We  consider  (or  should 
do  so)  when  we  punish,  how  far  it  may  reform  the  of- 
fender, how  it  may  be  an  example  to  others  and  how  so- 
ciety may  be  safeguarded  from  a  repetition  of  the  act. 

These  are  the  underlying  principles  of  punishment. 
It  also  involves  another  principle  or  sentiment,  revenge, 
expressed  by  one  writer  as  "the  indignation  of  society 
which  has  been  outraged  by  the  violation  of  its  laws." 

But  the  form  of  punishment  universally  adopted  at 
present,  namely,  imprisonment,  only  stimulates  the  fear 
of  physical  discomfiture  and  possible  pain,  without  im- 
proving either  the  mind  or  conscience.  As  a  deterrent 
influence  it  is  often  successful,  as  a  reforming  influence 
it  is  an  absolute  failure.  It  is  of  service  to  society  only  in 
cases  which  withstand  efiforts  to  correct  moral  perver- 
sion and  then  it  is  a  safeguard,  bilt  neither  an  example 
nor  a  lesson.    Crime  and  vice  due  to  ignorance  are  best 


THE  PROBLEM 


275 


treated  by  educational  measures,  religious  and  social, 
while  neither  education  nor  imprisonment  will  avail  where 
necessity  dulls  conscience. 

In  cases  in  which  there  is  a  physical  or  mental  defect, 
those  moral  perversions  properly  classed  as  manias,  med- 
ical treatment  is  indicated.  It  is  extremely  difficult,  how- 
ever, to  fix  the  dividing  line  between  kleptomania,  or  the 
mania  for  stealing,  and  criminal  theft.  Many  thieves 
steal  because  they  cannot  resist  the  temptation  when 
placed  before  them.  The  kleptomaniac  presents  the  same 
plea.  The  social  standing  of  the  ofifender  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  booty  are  usually  the  deciding  factors  when 
the  question  of  kleptomania  is  raised.  A  wealthy  woman 
pockets  trinkets  of  little  value  at  the  bargain  counter  and 
is  caught.  Her  plea  of  ''kleptomania"  is  accepted.  A 
poor  girl  caught  in  the  same  act  is  a  shoplifter,  although 
the  theft  may  have  been  committed  under  the  same  moral 
perversion  or  uncontrollable  impulse. 

When  a  supposedly  wealthy  woman  steals  a  four  thou- 
sand dollar  diamond  necklace  she  presents  a  plea  of  tem- 
porary aberration  of  mind,  and  there  is  none  to  disprove 
it.    She  passes  as  a  kleptomaniac. 

The  husband  of  a  prominent  actress,  a  man  of  some 
means  and  very  charitable,  is  a  true  kleptomaniac,  and 
is  known  for  this  failing  in  the  establishments  in  which 
he  deals.  While  making  expensive  purchases  he  will 
pocket  articles  of  little  value.  He  has  been  known  to 
carry  off  a  weight  from  the  scales,  a  child's  shoe,  a  news- 


276 


THE  PROBLEM 


paper,  and  other  small  articles,  paying  for  them  if  de- 
tected. Where  his  failing  is  known,  he  is  carefully 
watched,  every  article  he  takes  is  noted,  and  a  bill  is  sent 
to  him  the  same  day.  Such  bills  are  invariably  paid 
without  question.  This  is  true  kleptomania,  and  no  puni- 
tive measures  will  cure  the  disease.  Fear  of  exposure 
when  caught  has  a  deterrent  effect,  but  medical  treatment 
and  the  knowledge  that  one  is  constantly  watched  may 
ef¥ect  a  cure. 

A  factor  which  can  be  overlooked  in  small  towns,  but 
not  in  large  cities,  is  the  social  evil.  It  has  been  shown 
that  this  is  a  necessary  evil  wherever  there  is  a  large 
floating  population,  and  some  foreign  governments,  rec- 
ognizing the  necessity  for  such  women,  have  passed  laws 
regulating  their  vocation.  If  we  consider  their  calling 
criminal,  we  must  consider  man's  animal  passions,  which 
necessitates  this  calling,  as  moral  perversions,  criminal  or 
diseased.  Yet  these  passions  are  due  to  the  procreative 
instinct  common  throughout  the  animal  kingdom. 

There  is  no  uniformity  in  the  state  laws  passed  to 
restrict  this  vocation,  nor  in  their  enforcement.  Nor  is 
there  any  uniformity  in  the  interpretation  of  these  laws 
by  judges,  some  enforcing  them  with  the  utmost  rigor, 
others,  recognizing  the  necessity  of  this  evil,  refusing  to 
enforce  them  at  all.  On  the  night  of  August  13th,  1903, 
thirty-two  women  were  arrested  for  soliciting  on  the 
streets  of  New  York  City.  All  were  discharged  by  the 
police  justice  the  following  morning.    Since  the  institu- 


THE  PROBLEM 


277 


tion  of  the  night  courts  in  Xew  York  such  women  are 
brought  before  this  court.  Those  arrested  for  soHciting 
are  either  fined,  imprisoned  or  placed  in  charge  of  a  pro- 
bation officer,  while  those  caught  in  raided  dives  are  usu- 
ally discharged. 

Another  factor  which  must  be  considered  when  tak- 
ing up  measures  for  the  suppression  of  vice  and  crime 
is  the  passion  for  gambling  and  speculating.  There  is 
no  dividing  line  between  the  two — the  latter  is  permitted 
by  law,  the  former  forbidden.  Public  policy,  and  not  con- 
science or  reason,  decides  where  one  begins  and  the  other 
ends. 

As  for  the  general  alleviation  of  poverty  and  the  erad- 
ication of  pauperism,  these  belong  properly  to  the  realm 
of  the  social  economists.  Pleasures  can,  however,  be 
taken  to  relieve  the  particular  class  with  whom  we  are 
dealing,  but  here,  too,  measures  must  be  based  upon  in- 
dividual cases.  The  cause  in  each  case  must  be  consid- 
ered, the  person's  wants  and  needs,  his  intelligence  and 
adaptability,  his  willingness  and  ability,  all  must  be  taken 
into  account.  This  is  the  plan  followed  by  the  Charity 
Organization  Society. 

Where  these  factors  are  disregarded  and  all  are  con- 
sidered as  part  of  a  whole,  with  measures  applied  to  all 
alike,  all  are  forced  into  the  same  plane,  that  of  the 
pauper. 

At  the  great  Salvation  Army  dinners  we  see  tramps, 
worthless,  shiftless,  able-bodied  men,  enjoying  the  bounty 


278 


T H E    P  ROB  L E M 


of  the  charitable,  and  alongside  of  them  are  Httle  chil- 
ch'en,  unconscious  of  their  position,  mothers  submitting 
to  the  humiHation  of  appearing  in  public  as  paupers  in 
order  to  obtain  a  good  meal  for  themselves  and  little 
ones,  and  men,  self-respecting  up  to  the  moment  when 
first  driven  to  break  the  bitter  bread  of  charity  with 
tramps  and  beggars  under  the  public  gaze,  as  paupers. 

We  will  endeavor  to  show  how  individual  efforts, 
properly  directed,  with  due  regard  for  the  mental,  moral 
and  physical  capacity  of  the  person,  may  lead  to  the 
reformation  and  betterment  of  the  wretches. 

The  first  step  should  be  the  elimination  of  pseudo- 
charities  and  those  fostering  pauperism. 

The  warden  of  a  city  prison  declared  that  while  some 
of  his  ''guests"  never  return  after  their  first  visit,  those 
who  come  a  second  time  invariably  come  again. 

The  habitual  criminal  never  reforms.  He  may  pro- 
fess reformation,  may  even  lead  a  proper  life  for  a  time, 
but  given  the  opportunity  he  will  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion. (While  writing  this,  a  woman,  aged  69,  was  sent 
to  prison  for  the  thirteenth  time  for  shoplifting,  ten  years 
having  elapsed  since  her  last  offense.) 

The  safety  of  society  demands  that  such  persons  be 
kept  under  constant  restraint  or  watch,  and  the  power 
now  given  to  magistrates  to  make  the  term  of  imprison- 
ment indefinite,  secures  the  greatest  measure  of  safety 
compatible  with  justice  and  humanity.  With  many  the 
fear  of  imprisonment  has  a  less  deterrent  effect  than  the 


THE   PROBLEM  279 

fear  of  physical  pain.  Some  places  have  established 
corporal  punishment,  notably  Delaware,  for  wife  beaters. 
It  is  a  brutal,  yet  most  effective  measure,  and  no  one 
who  has  been  thus  punished  has  repeated  the  offense. 

When  one  naturally  vicious  is  thrown  in  contact  with 
criminals  he  becomes  a  criminal  himself.  Imprisonment 
with  the  association  of  habitual  offenders,  is  a  harden- 
ing process,  during  which  criminal  instincts  are  developed 
and  the  young  offender  comes  out  worse  than  before. 

Solitary  confinement,  even  for  a  short  time,  is  a  very 
severe  form  of  punishment,  and  if  inflicted  upon  the  first 
offense  it  will  keep  the  offender  from  contact  with  hard- 
ened criminals. 

The  deterrent  effect  of  this  form  of  punishment  is 
far  greater  than  a  much  longer  period  in  the  prison  work- 
shops, surrounded  by  fellow  convicts.  If  the  offender 
upon  his  release  from  solitary  confinement  is  at  once  re- 
moved from  his  former  surroundings,  and  placed  in  such 
a  position  that  he  can  have  the  association  of  good  men 
and  women,  with  the  opportunity  to  earn  a  livelihood, 
such  person  will  lead  a  righteous  life  so  long  as  tempta- 
tion is  not  placed  in  his  way.  He  will  in  time  understand 
that  there  is  a  material  benefit  in  being  honest  and  honor- 
able, and  will  resist  temptation,  if  not  from  the  dictates 
of  conscience,  certainly  from  the  dictates  of  policy  and 
self-interest. 

The  same  line  of  treatment  will  avail  where  the  of- 
fense arises  from  ignorance.    Instead  of  solitary  con- 


280 


THE  PROBLEM 


finement,  however,  educational  measures  will  be  more 
successful.  Here  religious  teaching-  may  rouse  a  dormant 
conscience,  but  the  removal  of  temptation  and  the  stimu- 
lation of  work  among  respectable  men  are  necessary  to 
complete  the  work  of  reformation.  This  is  the  policy 
followed  by  the  Prison  Association.  It  secures  work  for 
the  discharged  prisoner  in  places  where  he  is  free  from 
temptation,  where  he  comes  in  contact  with  good  men, 
where  his  past  is  unknown,  and  he  has  an  opportunity  to 
rehabilitate  himself. 

There  is  one  fundamental  fault  with  our  reformatory 
and  punitive  systems. 

With  the  exception  of  the  death  penalty  for  murder 
there  is  but  one  method  of  punishment,  imprisonment, 
differing  only  in  length  of  time,  for  all  ofifenses.  There 
is,  indeed,  another,  the  imposition  of  a  fine,  an  unjust 
provision  which  gives  the  rich  a  decided  advantage  over 
the  poor. 

Imprisonment  may  be  the  proper  punishment  for  the 
habitual  criminal,  but  many  offenses  are  punished  by  im- 
prisonment which  require  entirely  different  treatment. 

A  hod  carrier,  climbing  up  a  ladder,  drops  a  brick 
from  his  hod  upon  the  head  of  a  passer-by.  He  goes  to 
prison  for  manslaughter.  He  may  be  a  God-fearing,  law- 
abiding  man ;  he  may  have  been  unconscious  of  the  acci- 
dent until  the  moment  of  arrest,  yet  he  must  suffer  the 
same  punishment  meted  out  to  the  thief  or  burglar  who 
is  prepared  to  commit  murder  when  caught  in  a  lesser 


THE  PROBLEM 


281 


crime.  If  the  brick  had  fallen  an  inch  from  the  passer- 
by, the  hod  carrier  would  have  been  innocent  of  crime. 
Had  the  brick  fallen  on  the  victim's  shoulder  it  would 
have  been  assault  or  criminal  negligence,  but  falling  on 
the  skull,  crushing  it,  the  crime  is  homicide.  His  free- 
dom or  his  length  of  punishment  depends  upon  the  spot 
where  the  brick  fell.  And  the  punishment  for  what 
would  be  called  an  act  of  Providence  differs  in  no  wise 
from  the  punishment  received  by  the  conscienceless 
wretch  who  robs  a  child  of  its  cloak  for  the  price  of  a 
drink. 

While  corporal  punishment  or  a  long  period  of  im- 
prisonment will  deter  the  hardened  criminal,  and  soli- 
tary confinement  will  deter  the  young  offender,  none  of 
these  will  have  any  effect  upon  the  hod  carrier. 

The  pangs  of  conscience  will  punish  him  more  than 
prison. 

The  poor  devil  forced  to  crime  through  want  re- 
quires other  treatment  than  the  ordinary  criminal.  Im- 
prisonment and  the  association  of  criminals  will  only  em- 
bitter him  against  society  and  squash  whatever  conscience 
remains  in  him,  and  he  will  come  out  a  criminal  and 
follow  a  criminal  career. 

Work  at  living  wages  will  save  him,  though  such  work 
be  under  government  control.  Let  it  be  a  state  farm  or 
workshop,  or  road-making,  or  any  similar  occupation, 
where  he  will  receive  pay  for  work  done,  and  paying  out 
of  his  wages  for  his  board.    Forcible  detention  until 


282  THE    PRO  BLUM 

he  has  saved  a  certain  amount,  the  amount  determined  by 
the  gravity  of  the  crime,  would  be  a  fitting  penaUy  for 
his  offense,  and  would  place  him  in  such  a  position  that 
he  would  not  be  immediately  forced  into  crime  upon  his 
release. 

Hard  work,  with  intervals  of  solitary  confinement,  is 
the  only  effective  method  of  dealing  with  that  class  who 
live  from  the  earnings  of  dissolute  women. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  no  law,  except  that  covering 
vagrancy,  by  which  these  fellows  can  be  reached  unless 
they  add  theft  to  their  vile  occupation.  The  law  takes 
cognizance  of  the  inciter  to  crime,  but  the  inciter  to  vice 
goes  free,  although  his  work  is  more  dangerous  to  society 
than  that  of  the  fagin  or  fence. 

(The  term  Fagin,  after  Dickens'  notorious  character 
in  Oliver  Twist,  is  now  generally  applied  to  one  who  in- 
duces children  to  become  pickpockets  and  shoplifters.) 

The  pander  is  a  human  parasite,  without  a  redeem- 
ing virtue,  yet  his  calling  as  paid  protector  of  lewd 
women  is  legitmiate,  as  there  is  no  law  covering  it. 

This  fellow  is  on  a  lower  plane,  morally,  than  the 
habitual  criminal,  and  only  the  fear  of  harsh  prison  treat- 
ment will  make  him  take  up  honest  work  and  deter  him 
from  forcing  women  to  support  him.  The  fence  and  the 
fagin  cannot  be  restrained  by  ordinary  prison  punish- 
ment, while  moral  teachings  are  wasted  upon  these  un- 
conscionable wretches.    Long  periods  of  imprisonment, 


THE  PROBLEM 


283 


with  harsh  treatment  toward  the  end  of  their  term,  would 
be  the  most  effective  method  of  repressing  their  voca- 
tions. 

A  week  of  hard  labor  has  a  more  deterrent  effect  upon 
the  tramp  than  six  months  of  ordinary  penitentiary  or 
workhouse  labor.  The  tramp  does  not  mind  the  abuse, 
which  seems  to  be  a  part  of  the  prison  routine,  but  w^ork 
and  wash  have  a  powerful  influence  for  good.  Tramps 
desert  localities  where  they  are  put  to  hard  work  when 
caught. 

One  great  advantage  of  the  reformatory  over  the 
prison  is  that  the  inmates  learn  a  trade,  by  which  they  can 
support  themselves  after  their  release.  This  ought  to  be 
part  of  the  prison  routine,  and  every  prisoner  should  at 
his  release  have  some  trade. 

After  a  prisoner  has  worked  in  a  prison  quarry  for  a 
year  or  two  he  is  not  fit  to  take  up  any  occupation  upon 
his  release,  and  must  go  back  to  crime. 

The  treatment  of  women  leading  vicious  or  criminal 
lives  is  simpler  than  the  treatment  of  men.  Women  are, 
as  .a  rule,  impressionable,  amenable  to  religious  teachings, 
and  easily  deterred  by  fear  of  punishment. 

Each  case,  however,  requires  individual  treatment, 
based  upon  mental  and  moral  capacity  and  the  considera- 
tion of  the  cause  which  led  her  into  crime  and  vice. 

Of  all  the  sociological  problems  none  presents  greater 
difficulties  than  the  disposition  of  the  social  evil.  What 
shall  be  done  for  and  with  the  women  whose  vocation  is 


THE  PROBLEM 


embraced  in  this  evil  ?  In  small  towns  where  such 
women  are  unnecessary,  the  most  stringent  measures 
should  be  taken  to  drive  them  out.  In  a  great  city  like 
New  York,  with  a  large  floating  population  (estimated 
here  at  60,000),  such  women  are  necessary,  and  ac- 
knowledging this  necessity,  we  must  recognize  the  neces- 
sity for  regulating  their  vocation.  The  hypocritical  cry 
''to  regulate  vice  is  to  legalize  vice"  is  the  main  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  enacting  laws  restricting  the  social  evil, 
and  so  long  as  its  existence  depends  upon  the  temper  of 
the  police,  no  improvement  can  be  expected  in  the  condi- 
tion of  this  evil  in  New  York.  While  there  are  numerous 
laws  and  police  regulations  touching  upon  the  social  evil, 
the  panders  and  prostitutes  and  keepers  of  vicious  resorts, 
some  are  conflicting,  others  are  impracticable,  most  are 
indefinite,  thereby  allowing  magistrates  discretionary  pow- 
ers in  their  interpretation  and  the  police  force  consider- 
able leeway  in  their  enforcement.  Other  communities,  not 
suffering  from  an  over-sensitive  false  modesty,  have  at- 
tacked this  problem  in  a  rational  manner,  restricting  the 
vocation  to  certain  neighborhoods,  to  certain  ages,  to 
women  free  from  disease.  They  have  enacted  laws  in- 
flicting heavy  penalties  for  violation  of  the  regulations  of 
the  social  evil.  Adding  to  these  enactments  summary 
punishment  for  men  who  drive  their  wives  or  mistresses 
to  the  street  to  support  them,  for  women  who  bring  their 
daughters  or  foundlings  up  in  vice,  for  men  who  deceive 


THE    PROBLEM  285 

and  then  desert  their  sweethearts,  and  we  restrict  the  evil 
to  a  class  of  women  who  will  be  vile  in  spite  of  all  that 
may  be  done  for  them. 

There  may  be  some  driven  to  this  calling  through 
want,  but  the  number  will  be  reduced  when  they  find  they 
must  place  themselves  under  police  and  medical  super- 
vision. 

The  woman  driven  to  the  street  through  want  might 
have  been  saved  before  entering  upon  her  career  at  the 
expense  of  a  kind  word  and  a  few  dollars. 

After  a  woman  has  been  driven  through  want  to  take 
up  a  life  of  shame,  and  finds  that  she  can  earn  more  in  a 
night  than  at  another  occupation  in  a  week,  she  will  not 
voluntarily  go  back  to  the  honest  work  at  which  she  for- 
merly starved. 

In  the  early  part  of  their  careers  these  women  are 
amenable  to  religious  teachings,  backed  by  material  sup- 
port.   Later  on,  when  hardened,  they  will  not  reform. 

The  class  recruited  from  the  shops,  who  receive  low 
wages  and  must  supplement  these  by  giving  favors  occa- 
sionally to  friends  in  gratitude  for  loans,  can  be  saved 
from  a  life  of  shame  by  increased  wages  and  friendly 
supervision. 

This  involves  economic  questions  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  work.  As  a  business  proposition  it  seems  better 
to  expend  money  in  increased  wages  rather  than  in  cliar- 
itable  donations  to  homes  for  fallen  women,  when  women 
are  driven  to  tlrese  homes  through  insufficient  wages. 


286  rilE  PROBLEM 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  reach  that  large  class  of 
women  who  dispense  favors  to  employers,  superiors  or 
lovers.  Most  of  these,  when  discarded  by  their  admirers, 
take  up  illicit  relations  with  others  and  when  they  find 
that  they  can  earn  more  this  way  than  by  honest  work 
they  join  the  ranks  of  fallen  women.  The  modern  idea 
in  dealing  with  vicious  phases  of  life  is  to  determine  the 
causes  and  apply  preventive  measures,  rather  than  to 
treat  the  faults  and  vices  and  their  results.  It  is  believed 
that  much  unchastity  can  be  prevented  if  young  men  and 
women  knew  the  truth  about  sexual  matters,  sexual  anat- 
omy and  physiology  and  the  dangers  of  unchastity.  The 
American  Society  of  Sanitary  and  floral  Prophylaxis, 
in  its  efforts  to  limit  the  spread  of  diseases  arising  from 
the  social  evil,  is  endeavoring  to  spread  this  knowledge 
by  issuing  pamphlets  on  these  subjects.  This  reaches, 
however,  only  one,  although  a  very  important  one,  of  the 
fundamental  causes  of  vice. 

The  poor  girl  turned  adrift  by  a  false  lover,  when 
she  is  in  trouble,  can  be  easily  saved  at  the  expense  of  a 
little  money  and  some  personal  effort.  Her  lover  should 
be  compelled  to  marry  her  and  support  her  and  her  off- 
spring. But  if  he  will  not,  where  is  the  good  Samaritan 
who  will  take  this  pitiable  wretch  into  his  or  her  home 
until  her  trouble  is  over,  then  place  her  in  a  position 
where  she  can  come  in  contact  with  good  men  and 
women  ? 


THE  PROBLEM 


287 


Yet  men  and  women  have  taken  pity  upon  such  un- 
fortunates, have  shielded  them  until  their  day  of  trial 
was  over,  and,  leaving  the  child  in  a  foundling  asylum 
until  it  could  be  reclaimed,  placed  their  wards  in  posi- 
tions of  respectability. 

And  good  men  have  heard  the  pitiful  confession  be- 
fore they  led  their  wives  to  the  alter  and  have  said  as 
the  Master  said  to  the  woman  which  was  a  sinner,  "Thy 
sins  are  forgiven ;  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee." 

Unfortunately,  such  girls,  when  deserted  by  false 
lovers,  hide  their  disgrace  until  their  condition  betrays 
them,  then  they  go  to  a  hospital,  or  a  home.  Here  they 
are  thrown  in  contact  with  other  women  similarly  situated 
and  most  of  them  afterwards  take  up  a  life  of  shame. 

With  the  gay  and  giddy  and  the  naturally  vicious, 
little  can  be  done.  The  vicious  woman  may  be  cowed 
by  fear,  but  she  will  not  reform.  The  giddy  woman  may 
be  influenced  by  religious  teaching  while  she  is  young, 
but  she  will  still  seek  pleasure  and  go  back  to  her  old 
life.  Occasionally  a  dormant  conscience  will  be  roused 
and  under  pleasant  conditions  a  fallen  woman  may  learn 
that  virtue  may  be  materially  as  well  as  spiritually  prof- 
itable. But  the  lesson  must  be  taught  early  in  her  career 
by  a  congenial  and  tactful  teacher. 

When  women  of  this  class  are  arrested  on  the  usual 
charge  of  soliciting  they  are  generally  fined  or  sent  to 
prison  for  a  few  days.  Neither  form  of  punishment  has 
a  deterrent  effect.  • 


288  r  II  E    P  R  O  BLR  M 

In  the  workhouse  they  are  consoled  and  cheered  by 
older  rounders  and  they  come  out  worse  and  more  deter- 
mined than  ever. 

The  inconsistency  and  imperfection  of  the  laws  at 
present  in  force,  bearing  upon  the  social  evil,  make  it 
impossible  to  formulate  any  method  of  improving  this 
condition  under  such  laws.  No  one  method  would  avail 
with  all ;  indeed,  with  those  hardened  to  the  life  and 
without  moral  instincts,  neither  force,  detention  nor 
teachings  would  be  of  any  service.  Segregation  with 
police  supervision  would  make  them  harmless  to  society, 
but  such  a  course  would  involve  state  regulation  of  vice. 

As  for  the  others,  the  individual  efiforts  of  good 
women  who  were  not  ashamed  to  speak  to  the  wretched 
beings  of  the  street,  have  been  more  successful  in  re- 
claiming the  wayward  and  fallen  than  repressive  laws  and 
mission  prayers. 

The  women  who  follow  a  criminal  course  are,  as  a 
rule,  women  hardened  by  their  lives  on  the  street,  and 
those  having  inherent  vices. 

They  never  reform,  although  in  adversity  they  will 
seek  relief  in  a  reformatory  or  home.  A  long  term  of 
imprisonment  with  hard  menial  labor  has  a  more  deter- 
rent effect  upon  them  than  upon  men.  Efforts  at 
reformation  are  wasted. 

XoTK. — This  subject  is  more  fulh'  discussed  in  the  author's 
brochure,  "The  Social  Evil :    A  Plea." 


THE  PROBLEM 


289 


The  old  rounders  who  are  drinkers  but  not  criminals 
are  not  influenced  by  imprisonment  or  work.  The  most 
effective  method  of  curing  them  would  be  to  place  them 
under  treatment  for  the  drink  habit. 

With  that  class  of  wretches  whose  bestial  habits  have 
been  referred  to  there  is  but  one  rational  method  of  treat- 
ment. Their  perverted  tastes  cannot  be  altered  by  lec- 
tures, prayers  or  medicines.  Solitary  confinement  and 
hard  labor  have  a  deterrent  effect,  but  a  self-imposed 
companion  who  would  not  hesitate  to  use  force  whenever 
the  wretch  atterripts  to  practice  his  vice  would  do  more 
good. 

Those  suflfering  from  the  drug  habit  are  really  pa- 
tients, not  criminals,  and  all  but  the  smokers  are  anxious 
to  give  up  the  habit.  There  is  no  public  institution  where 
such  cases  are  treated ;  private  asylums  are  expensive, 
and  most  of  the  so-called  cures  are  frauds.  While  there 
are  scores  of  richly-endowed  hospitals  in  the  city  there 
is  none  which  will  undertake  the  treatment  of  drug  ha- 
bitues. Neither  is  there  an  institution  which  will  treat 
drunkards.  The  Christian  Home  for  Intemperate  ^Icn 
in  Mount  \^ernon  attempts  to  treat  such  cases  through 
religious  influence,  but  it  has  no  power  to  restrain  or  hold 
inmates,  and  such  restraint  is  necessary  to  ef¥ect  a  per- 
manent cure.  The  cure  of  the  drug  habit  is  effected  by 
complete  deprivation  of  the  drug,  treating  the  dangerous 
symptoms  of  collapse  as  they  appear.  This  requires 
restraint  and  the  laws  of  this  State  forbid  such  restraint 


290 


THE  PROBLEM 


cxccj:)!  in  the  case  of  insane.  An  institution  conducted 
by  the  city  or  State  for  the  treatment  of  (h'ug  habits  and 
alcoholism  would  do  incalculable  good,  for  many  would 
be  restored  to  health  and  manhood  who  are  now  doomed 
to  go  down  as  sots  or  fiends. 

The  opium  smoker  does  not  want  to  be  cured  and 
force  is  often  fatal.  The  vice  can,  however,  be  restricted 
and  perhaps,  in  time,  entirely  suppressed  by  regulating 
the  sale  of  the  crude  drug,  enforcing  restrictions  now 
placed  upon  its  sale,  forbidding  entirely  the  sale  of  the 
prepared  ''hop,"  and  also  of  the  smoking  implements. 
The  more  difficult  and  expensive  it  becomes  to  indulge 
in  this  vice  the  fewer  will  its  converts  become. 

We  now  come  to  that  great  class  standing  between 
the  honest  laboring  poor  and  the  vicious  and  criminal. 
These  are  the  poor  who  will  not  work,  the  homeless  poor 
in  search  of  work  and  on  the  verge  of  crime,  the  beggar 
and  the  tramp. 

Those  who  want  work  will  not  associate  with  those 
who  will  not  work.  Until  the  opening  of  the  two  Mills 
hotels  the  former  were  thrown  in  contact  wdth  the  shift- 
less and  vicious  in  the  lodging  houses,  with  the  inevitable 
result.  The  latter  were  not  improved,  the  former  were 
debased.  The  ^lills  hotels  have  segregated  the  good 
from  the  bad,  but  they  cannot  hold  all  who  would  patron- 
ize them.  There  the  law-abiding,  self-respecting  man 
comes  in  contact  with  others  of  his  own  class  and  simi- 
larly situated.    When  he  has  reached  the  end  of  his  re- 


THE  PROBLEM 


291 


sources  he  must  leave  the  hotel  and  he  is  then  on  the  point 
of  becoming  a  beggar,  a  thief  or  a  tramp.  A  few  dollars 
spent  upon  the  poor  devil  at  this  time  will  save  him  from 
becoming  a  wretch  and  may  save  the  State  many  times 
that  amount. 

Here  is  a  fruitful  field  yet  little  touched  by  the  State 
or  by  private  philanthropy.  Is  it  not  better  to  save  a 
man  as  he  is  about  to  go  down,  than  to  drag  him  up  when 
he  is  down? 

The  man  who  is  out  of  work,  without  home,  friends 
or  resources,  reaches  a  crisis  in  his  life  when  his  last 
dollar  is  gone  and  the  pangs  of  hunger  assail  him. 

Within  the  next  few  hours  he  will  have  become  a  sui- 
cide, a  thief  or  a  street  beggar,  or  else  he  will  apply  to 
some  charity  for  aid. 

Some  men  in  desperation  will  attack  a  stranger  to  rob 
him,  yet  have  not  the  hardihood  to  approach  a  stranger 
and  ask  him  for  the  price  of  a  meal.  Many  when  thev 
accept  the  first  meal  drop  at  once  in  their  own  estimation 
from  the  self-respecting  man  to  the  pauper. 

Few  retain  their  self-respect  and  ambition  after  hav- 
ing been  compelled  to  associate  with  beggars  and  tramps. 

Those  who  apply  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House 
know  that  after  three  days  they  are  considered  vagrants, 
are  sent  to  the  police  station,  then  to  the  work  house. 

One  might  apply  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society 


292 


T  II  E    r  R  OB  LE  M 


at  22n(\  Street  and  Fourth  Avenue.  This  society  will 
send  him  to  its  wood  yard,  where  he  will  do  a  few  hours' 
work  and  receive  supper,  breakfast  and  bed. 

The  work  is  hard  and  when  one  is  unaccustomed  to 
hard  manual  labor  it  is  extremely  irksome.  This  work 
is,  moreover,  only  temporary. 

The  Industrial  Christian  Alliance  in  Bleecker  Street 
will  give  him  a  temporary  home.  Here  more  than  any- 
where else  does  he  feel  that  he  is  dependent  upon  charity, 
although  he  is  employed  at  tailoring,  carpentering,  brush- 
making  or  shoemaking  while  at  the  Home.  Still  it  has 
saved  many  men  who  would  otherwise  have  become 
wretches. 

The  Salvation  Army  does  similar  work,  but  this,  as 
the  other,  has  religious  features  which  may  conflict  with 
the  man's  conscience.  The  Bowery  branch  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  most  closely  approaches  the  form  of  philanthropy 
required  in  these  cases. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  is  how  to  secure 
work  for  those  who  want  but  cannot  find  suitable  em- 
*  ploy m en t. 

During  periods  of  industrial  depression  thousands  of 
men  come  to  this  city  in  search  of  work.  ]\Iany  possess 
trades  and  qualifications  for  which  there  is  no  demand 
here ;  others  come  without  references  or  refer  to  employ- 
ers in  other  cities. 


THE  PROBLEM 


293 


Those  coming  from  farming  districts  have  no  trade 
available  in  the  city,  while  many  come  from  other  cities 
looking  for  clerical  positions. 

The  latter  are  soon  in  trouble,  as  the  supply  of  clerks 
far  exceeds  the  demand,  and  those  accustomed  to  clerical 
work  are  unable  to  stand  the  strain  of  prolonged  hard 
labor,  and  to  outdoor  exposure. 

In  February,  1908,  thirty  out  of  eighty  guests  in  a 
Bowery  lodging  house  would  tell  the  writer  what  their 
vocations  and  aims  were.  Nineteen  said  they  had  done 
clerical  work  before  and  fifteen  of  these  had  been  less 
than  a  year  in  the  city. 

Most  of  them  were  supplied  with  funds,  having  made 
a  few  dollars  shoveling  snow  during  the  preceding  week. 
All  said  they  wanted  work  of  any  kind,  but  when  closely 
questioned  it  was  found  that  not  one  knew  any  other 
trade  and  could  take  up  nothing  but  bookkeeping  or 
clerk's  work. 

Those  from  out  of  town  said  they  would  go  back  to 
where  they  came  from  if  they  could  raise  the  fare. 

Some  undoubtedly  started  out  on  foot  when  spring 
set  in  and  are  probably  still  on  the  tramp.  When  the 
police  station  lodging  rooms  were  closed  in  the  winter  of 
1898  nearly  1,000  homeless  wretches  found  shelter  on  a 
barge  furnished  by  the  city.  About  forty  per  cent  of 
these  were  in  New  York  less  than  two  months.  When 


294 


T H E    P R OB  LE M 


it  was  announced  that  those  who  would  not  work  would 
be  sent  to  prison  as  vagrants  the  daily  number  dropped 
from  nearly  500  to  120. 

It  seems  to  be  the  most  rational  and  in  the  end  the 
most  economical  method  of  disposing  of  such  cases  to 
send  them  back  to  the  place  from  which  they  came,  where 
they  have  friends  and  perhaps  relatives  who  can  look 
after  them  until  they  secure  employment. 

The  farmhand  is  accustomed  to  outdoor  work,  is  not 
afraid  of  hard  labor  and  should  have  little  difficulty  in 
securing  employment. 

If  there  were  a  law  compelling  contractors  to  employ 
none  but  citizens  on  public  works  it  would  give  work  to 
thousands  of  unemployed  Americans  who  now  watch  the 
foreigners  imported  for  the  purpose  working  on  public 
structures.  They  say  the  American  won't  work  with 
pick  and  shovel,  that  he  foments  trouble  by  inciting  others 
to  strike ;  that  even  if  inclined  to  do  manual  labor  he 
cannot  or  will  not  accomplish  as  much  as  the  foreigner, 
who,  in  his  opinion,  does  not  know  half  as  much  as  him- 
self ;  finally,  the  foreigner  will  do  more  for  less  money 
than  the  American. 

Some  of  these  charges  are  undoubtedly  true.  Many 
Americans  would  starve  before  doing  menial  work  or 
submit  to  the  dictation  of  a  ''boss." 

Many,  on  the  other  hand,  are  not  ashamed  to  do  any 


THE  PROBLEM 


295 


honest  work  which  will  keep  them  from  starvation. 
These  should  have  an  opportunity  to  work  in  places  now 
filled  by  unskilled  foreigners. 

There  are  comparatively  few  skilled  laborers  among 
the  wretches,  and  these  are  almost  without  exception 
drunkards. 

During  a  period  of  business  depression,  when  the 
number  of  unemployed  men  increases,  the  skilled  trades 
suffer  with  the  others.  It  is  at  such  times  that  private 
philanthropy  can  do  much  to  prevent  the  production  of 
paupers. 

Private  loans  of  small  amounts  to  those  at  the  turning 
point  will  foster  self-respect  and  stimulate  energy  and 
ambition,  while  gifts  will  have  the  opposite  effect. 

At  all  times  a  small  loan  to  one  who  has  a  trade  or 
profession  will  produce  better  results  than  the  same 
amount  given  as  a  charitable  gift. 

Those  who  enter  Povertyville  to  sink  their  identity 
will  oppose  every  effort  to  rehabilitate  themselves.  Fam- 
ily influences  may  prevail,  but  neither  prayers  nor  pun- 
ishment have  any  effect. 

Some  of  them  would  even  welcome  imprisonment, 
since  they  can  more  effectually  hide  themselves  in  prison 
than  anywhere  else. 

The  lazy,  shiftless  fellow  who  won't  work  but  will 
beg  can  be  easily  suppressed.    The  same  treatment  ap- 


296 


THE  PROBLEM 


plied  to  him  as  has  been  suggested  for  the  tramp  will 
either  convert  him  into  self-supporting  citizen  or  will 
drive  him  out  of  the  city. 

The  harshest  measures  are  necessary  to  cure  the  pro- 
fessional beggar.  This  is  the  only  case  where  a  heavy 
fine  has  a  more  deterrent  efifect  than  imprisonment,  and  if 
the  fine  is  increased  upon  each  conviction  the  beggar  will 
seek  other  fields.  The  law  should  be  so  amended  that  a 
few  lead  pencils  in  a  coat  pocket  cannot  serve  as  a  sub- 
terfuge to  evade  it. 

In  all  cases,  except  where  a  fault  has  been  forced  upon 
an  offender,  as  when  in  dire  need,  or  when  a  girl  has  been 
deceived  and  deserted,  a  short,  harsh  punishment,  fol- 
lowed by  educational  and  religious  influences,  should  be 
tried  for  a  first  offense.  The  removal  of  temptation, 
the  substitution  of  innocent  pastimes  for  vicious  pleas- 
ures, companionship  of  good  men  and  women,  congenial 
employment  wdiere  the  mind  and  body  both  are  fully 
occupied,  arousing  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility,  and 
hiding  the  dark  spot  in  their  past,  should  be  the  ground- 
work on  which  efforts  for  reformation  should  be  con- 
ducted. 

And  w^hile  such  efforts  are  made  to  redeem  the  indi- 
vidual, the  state  legislature  should  take  cognizance  of 
local  conditions  and  needs  and  enact  laws  based  upon 
such  conditions  and  needs.  In  this  respect  the  city  of 
New  York  is  in  an  unfortunate  position.  Although  con- 
taining about  half  of  the  population  of  the  state  and  pay- 


THE  PROBLEM 


297 


ing  two-thirds  of  the  state  tax,  it  has  but  eighty-four 
out  of  two  hundred  and  one  members  in  the  state  legis- 
lature. At  the  present  time  (1908)  fifty-six  out  of  the 
eighty-four  are  opposed  to  the  party  in  power  in  the  state. 
New  York  City  is  consequently  at  the  mercy  of  rural 
legislators  politically  opposed  to  the  city,  most  of  whom 
are  unacquainted  with  its  needs,  and  who  enact  laws  well 
suited  to  a  rural  population  but  inapplicable  to  the  me- 
tropolis. The  city  is  oppressed  by  such  legislative  blun- 
ders as  the  Raines  Law,  which  has  scattered  disreputable 
houses  all  over  the  city,  the  excise  provisions  of  which 
work  a  hardship  upon  thousands  of  citizens,  discriminate 
against  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  city  and  in  favor  of  this 
traffic  in  other  places  in  the  state  in  order  to  enrich  the 
state  treasury ;  a  Sunday  law  which  cannot  be  enforced, 
as  it  is  against  public  policy,  and  a  host  of  other  laws 
which  local  magistrates  decline  to  uphold  and  the  police 
will  not  enforce.  At  the  present  moment  we  see  a  police 
commissioner  who  is  endeavoring  to  carry  out  the  laws 
as  they  are  on  the  statute  books  at  loggerheads  with 
police  magistrates  wdio  interpret  the  laws  agreeably  to 
the  spirit  of  the  times  and  the  needs  of  the  city.  The 
worst  possible  solution  of  the  problems  arising  out  of 
these  faulty  laws  is  the  toleration  of  their  evasion,  yet 
that  seems  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  community  toward 
them  at  present.  This  attitude  further  strengthens  the 
trend  of  judicial  opinion  in  questions  involving  morality 
and  we  see,  as  a  result,  dives  raided  by  the  police  and 


298 


THE  PROBLEM 


the  inmates  released  by  the  poHce  magistrates,  the  keep- 
ers of  Raines  Law  hotels  arrested  on  circumstantial  evi- 
dence, and  though  there  be  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  they  violate  the  law,  they  are  discharged  for  want 
of  absolute  proof;  a  brothel  keeper  securing  an  injunc- 
tion against  the  police  commissioner  restraining  him  from 
posting  an  officer  in  front  of  the  house.  There  is  a 
growing  feeling  of  indignation  in  the  city  against  the 
state  and  those  who  try  to  carry  out  the  state  laws  liter- 
ally and  rigorously.  It  is,  however,  only  a  question  of 
time  when  the  city's  demand  for  home  rule  and  for  laws 
suitable  to  its  own  needs  must  be  heeded  by  the  state 
legislature. 

With  the  regulation  of  those  evils  which  are  necessary 
to  avoid  worse  ones,  and  the  strict  enforcement  of  such 
regulations,  with  the  suppression  of  those  evils  which 
can  be  suppressed  without  endangering  society  or  public 
policy;  with  the  segregation  of  the  virtuous  and  unfor- 
tunate from  the  vicious  and  lazy,  aiding  the  former  to 
be  self-supporting,  repressing  the  latter  by  force,  if  nec- 
essary, we  may  be  able  to  reach  a  rational  ideal  in  the 
sociological  aspect  of  our  city. 


THE  END. 


Note. — This  work  was  written  between  1903  and  1906  with 
some  additions  and  corrections  made  in  the  winter  of  1908-9. 
A  few  of  the  resorts  described  have  been  altered  or  wiped  out 
and  some  of  the  characters  have  disappeared.  The  characteristics 
of  the  Bowery  still  remain,  although  there  is  a  vast  improvement 
in  the  social  conditions  in  the  district.  New  laws,  new  tenements, 
modern  schools  and  public  parks  have  bettered  the  environment 
and  strengthened  home  influences  among  the  poor  dwellers,  but 
these  factors  for  good  do  not  affect  the  homeless,  vicious,  shift- 
less and  criminal  classes  with  whom  we  are  dealing.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  completion  of  the  two  new  bridges  which  will  extend  to 
the  Bowery  will  make  this  a  heavy  traffic  thoroughfare,  that 
shops,  factories  and  stores  will  take  the  place  of  the  resorts  of 
pleasure,  vice  and  poverty,  that  scientific  philanthropy  and  ra- 
tional laws  will  take  the  place  of  the  useless  and  pseudo-chari- 
ties and  inconsistent  discretionary  statutes  now  dealing  with  the 
wretches. 


(In  Preparation.    The  Wretches  of  Upper  Tendom) 


